


Support Building

by SirMuffinsworth



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Amami Rantaro Needs a Hug, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Chabashira Tenko, Chabashira Tenko Needs a Hug, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Ambiguous Consent, Implied/Referenced Break Up, Implied/Referenced Death in Childbirth, Implied/Referenced Sexual Abuse, Semi-Slow Burn, Ultimate Talent Development Plan (Dangan Ronpa), promise rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-29 02:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30149034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirMuffinsworth/pseuds/SirMuffinsworth
Summary: Tenko Chabashira doesn't really have a support system. Her classmates are generally too weirded out by her disdain towards men to get too close, and those that do get closer to her have a tendency to become uncomfortable around her quickly.A helping hand comes from an unlikely source, and when she needs a friendly face, it begins to deliver so much more.(A telling of Tenko and Rantaro's developing relationship, using the format of Fire Emblem-style support levels, because I decided to be clever with the title and format)
Relationships: Amami Rantaro & Chabashira Tenko, Amami Rantaro/Chabashira Tenko, Chabashira Tenko & Koizumi Mahiru, Chabashira Tenko & Owari Akane, Harukawa Maki/Saihara Shuichi, Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Oowada Mondo, Oma Kokichi/Yumeno Himiko
Comments: 15
Kudos: 56





	1. Level C

It was the eyes that were the most haunting. Those goddamned, superior, self-serving, mocking blue eyes.

“Tenkooooo,” Angie leaned forwards, her bangs casting shadow over her face as her tone took a menacing turn, “You lied about believing in Auta, Tenkoooo. Auta does not like liars. Isn’t that right, Himiko?”

Tenko’s face must have snapped from anger to horror very quickly, given the smirk that began to paint the artist’s face as Himiko responded.

“Nyeh, that’s right…” the mage shifted her hat downwards to avoid Tenko’s gaze, “The handsome god doesn’t tolerate liars…”

“B-But Himiko, I…” Tenko tried, “I was just trying to protect you!”

“Protect her? From what?” Angie giggled, “It sounds to me like the only one she needs protecting from is blasphemers like you, Tenko.”

“Y-you!”

“Nyeh, Angie’s right,” Himiko sighed, prodding at the floor lazily, “Go away, Tenko. You’re annoying.”

All around them, in the homeroom of class 79, Tenko’s classmates watched her with varying degrees of amusement, worry, pity, and sympathy as her poor heart shattered.

“H-hey!” Kaede stood, “That was uncalled for!”

“Was it?” Kokichi wore a slimy smirk, “Would you have preferred she lie just to protect her feelings? Would that have been better? At least this way the band-aid is ripped off.”

“B-but still, I---”

“It’s okay, Kaede,” Tenko’s voice caught in her throat as she looked down, “Don’t worry about it.”

The pianist’s eyes flooded with concern as she noticed the aikido master’s tone, “But Tenko…”

“I’m going back to my dorm room now. See you.”

Tenko’s hasty exit had her shoulder glancing off a certain green-haired adventurer, who glanced after her with a face that she couldn’t see through the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~

Go away, Tenko. You’re annoying.

Go away, Tenko. You’re annoying.

Go away, Tenko. You’re annoying.

The words repeated themselves over and over again in Tenko’s head like a sickening mantra, a thousand Himikos chanting the five words over and over again, mocking her. How could she not have seen this coming? Tenko had never trusted Angie any more than she trusted the men of her class, how had she possibly allowed her precious Himiko to fall into her clutches? When Himiko had first begun to be fooled by the artist’s trickery and manipulation, Tenko had signed on as well, to try to keep the small girl safe, but that had all been exposed in a heartbeat.

And here she was. Crouching in the small nook between her bathtub and her sink, in her cramped dorm bathroom, clutching her knees under her chin and feeling tears roll down her cheeks like waterfalls. 

Alone again.

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Tenko was supposed to be the warrior to Himiko’s mage, the dynamic duo who would take on the world together, and more. That’s how it had always been. Since they had begun their school lives and Tenko had been graced with the pleasure of knowing the redheaded mage, that was the dynamic they had fallen into.

And now, because of a single stupid slip of the tongue, she was just the annoying, clingy girl all over again. 

In elementary school, Tenko had latched onto a girl with pretty blonde pigtails. Her name had been Mizuki Shiba. In the first year of middle school, it had been the girl with long orange hair, Asusu Matsubara. Rawaya Mayeda. Hisoka Sawaya. Chiasa Kakeno. Shizuka Mino. Momo Kawashima. Rie Ozawa. 

And now, Himiko Yumeno.

Sobs racked her body as memories of all her former, equally one-sided flames bubbled up. They had all been so adorable, so graceful. So beautiful. Tenko had considered herself lucky to even be graced with their presence, let alone their friendship, but it was never to last. 

She was always just Tenko, the clingy girl with the weird pigtails and the martial arts who got way too close way too fast and always ended up alone because of it. 

In the back of her mind, Tenko remembered that Himiko had been the one to do up her signature spiral pigtails that morning. She remembered staring into the mirror as she did it, smile giddy as she felt Himiko’s delicate little fingers tie the knots so much better than she had ever done herself. 

The hairties soaked up the puddles that her tears had made around her as she cast them off, letting her hair fall and cover her back. Her green bow went next, along with her purple band, cast off to free the locks at the same time as she freed her pent-up sorrows within.

A buzz sounded from the box next to her door. Someone was ringing. Tenko bolted upwards.

“Wh-who is it?” she asked, praying to every god she knew, minus Atua, that it was Himiko come to apologize.

“It’s Rantaro. I came to check up on you.”

Rantaro, as in Amami? What could that male possibly want with her right now? Regardless, Tenko did not feel like forcing herself to look at a man, much less make conversation with one right now, so she just decided on silence. He would leave eventually. 

“Tenko?” his voice came again. She didn’t reply, holding her arms against herself and leaning against the bathroom doorframe for some modicum of support. 

Rantaro was silent as well for about thirty seconds. She was beginning to think he had left after all, when his voice rang once more.

“You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. I just want to help.”

Tenko swallowed. Help? What help could she possibly need from a degenerate, especially one like Rantaro? She would be perfectly fine without help, thank you! She was a strong, independent woman who didn’t need no---

A single passing glimpse of herself in the mirror closed that train of thought off quickly. Her eyes were red and puffy, her shoulders hunched. Her hair was loose and messy, as it had a tendency to frizz up when untamed by many ties. Her cheeks are swollen and caked with salt. The woman she saw was neither strong nor independent. 

Tenko needed help.

“What do you want?” she croaked softly.

“Just what I said,” Rantaro’s muffled voice replied, “To help. I brought some stuff that I think might help.”

Tenko’s eyebrows arched warily, but she sighed and walked towards the door. One quick glance through the viewer confirmed that the adventurer was there alone, and she slowly creaked the door open just enough to peer through the crack.

“Hey,” the boy smiled, giving her a polite wave.

Tenko didn’t reply, instead eyeing the camouflage bag that he wore at his side, slung over his shoulder by a single strap. It was large, certainly large enough to house a bottle of chloroform. Handcuffs could fit in there, too. All manner of despicable items could be awaiting her within. 

Seeming to sense her radiating distrust, Rantaro chuckled sheepishly and undid the clips holding the satchel closed. He opened the top and tilted it, allowing Tenko to peer within. Her eyes widened as she witnessed exactly the lengths the adventurer had seemingly gone to in order to put up a veil of decency.

A gallon of Neapolitan ice cream. Disc copies of Kung Fu Pandas 1 through 3. A pair of focus mitts with padded exteriors that made them not hurt to punch. And to top it all off, staring right at her with a pair of beady little button eyes was a stuffed panda, about the size of her head and complete with a plush bamboo shoot in its smiling mouth.

Tenko could somehow almost hear her heart melt. Rantaro, seemingly, did as well.

“I, uh…” he scratched at the back of his head, blushing, “I thought you might need some of this right now.”

“B-but why…” she murmured, unable to tear her gaze from the padded panda. It was as if the adorable little plush creature was daring her to refuse. Daring her to turn down this kindness. It was a game of chicken, and Tenko was beginning to falter.

“Look,” the green-haired boy smiled, “I’m no stranger to heartache. And given the emotional beating you probably just got, I… figured I’d extend a helping hand, if you don’t mind.”

Slowly, Tenko inched the door open further, allowing Rantaro to get a better look at her. She didn’t meet his gaze, fear preventing her from exploring what emotions she may find there.

“...seems I was right on the money,” he murmured, his tone full of such genuine concern that it almost made Tenko angry. How dare this degenerate pity her!

“D-don’t you say another word…” she hissed, but the usual punch just wasn’t behind it.

“I wasn’t going to,” Rantaro assured, “Anything I could possibly say, I’m sure you already know. Can I come in?”

Tenko hesitated. This was her dorm room. Her safe space. She had only allowed Himiko (and begrudgingly Angie, a few times) to grace these walls in the past. To allow a male inside, especially one like this guy, who so obviously toted around the aura of a swinger and heartbreaker… it felt almost unholy.

Still though, those two little black buttons bored their way into Tenko’s soul.

“Just don’t touch anything,” she muttered, stepping aside. Rantaro nodded and slipped in, kicking off his shoes and setting his bag down on Tenko’s bed.

“Thanks,” he smiled, “I can just drop this stuff off and get out of your hair, if that’s what you want. I don’t want to bother you if my presence is upsetting or anything.”

Tenko swallowed a lump in her throat. Rantaro had already seen everything, he could see what a decrepit creature she was right now. She couldn’t allow him to blab to everyone back in their class.

“Actually…” she murmured, voice timid, “You… don’t have to leave…”

It was a lie. That was all it was. Nothing else. She neither needed, nor wanted, his help. No ma’am.

Rantaro’s face lit up, “In that case, thanks again, Tenko. Here, you look like you could use this.”

A ringed hand held the panda out to her at arm’s length. Tenko could see Rantaro leaning backwards ever so slightly, his arm tense and ready to pull away if she tried to grab him and throw him, but she didn’t. Instead, so intimidated by the shiny black buttons that still continued to challenge her resolve, she grabbed the panda forcefully and pressed it into her chest.

She didn’t thank him, but he looked infuriatingly satisfied anyway as she took comfort in the soft plush mammal fitting perfectly under her chin, squishing slightly.

“So, Angie really has Himiko wrapped around her finger, huh,” the adventurer sighed, shaking his head, “Kaede filled me in after I asked her about you storming out like that. I already kinda know the answer is no, but I’ll ask anyway for the sake of decency, uh… do you wanna talk about it?”

“No,” Tenko confirmed weakly.

“Figured. Well, best I can do is distract you, hence these.”

Rantaro held up the three discs of the Kung Fu Panda movies, a polite smile on his face.

“I remember you mentioning that you enjoyed these movies, and that you didn’t have any streaming services in here, so…”

Tenko blinked. She had hardly mentioned those facts to him directly, she never would have. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t remember off the top of her head ever saying the words out loud, so whatever Rantaro must be remembering must have been incredibly offhanded. Still though, he… wasn’t wrong.

“When did I say that?” she asked, curiosity piqued, “I don’t remember telling you that.”

“Yeah,” he smiled back, “It was about five or six months ago, you were talking to Kirumi and Tsumugi about a girls’ movie night or something. You mentioned that you wouldn’t be able to hold it at your dorm, because you don’t have any streaming services, and just an old-timey DVD player, and that your favourite movies were these ones because you related to the Tigress character.”

Tenko’s eyes shot wide, her jaw hanging open slightly. Five to six months ago, and he remembered with that much detail!? Just how much attention was he paying to her!? Did she have a stalker and not even realize it until now!?

Rantaro seemed to recognize her concern in her features, as he chuckled and glanced away, rosy cheeked, “Ah, sorry, that probably came out creepier than intended. I’m just… observant, and my memory is pretty good.”

Tenko glanced from the movies, to the panda in her arms, to Rantaro, and back again, her eyebrows creeping upwards.

“Why the panda theme?” she asked, “Did you just buy all this stuff or something?”

“No, I’ve had this stuff for a while, actually,” Rantaro chuckled, “Uh… one of my sisters was big into pandas, and I still have some of her old stuff lying around, like this stuff. Didn’t think it woud come in handy, but here we are.

The aikido master blinked, “Sisters? You have sisters?”

“Yup. Twelve, all younger. The odds of me being the only guy out of thirteen siblings are ridiculous, yeah, but that’s what happened.”

Tenko froze, the image of a small, green-haired girl waving this panda around bringing a small amount of levity to her once again. As she finally looked up to meet Rantaro’s eyes again, however, she found his expression downcast and sad, though she wasn’t sure why.

Tenko pressed the panda in front of her mouth, as if maybe the fluff could stifle the weak “...thank you” she offered him.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rantaro’s gaze brightened again, “Anyways, you look like you could use a distraction. Want me to put the movie in?”

Tenko stiffened, her gaze flitting across the entire room and scenario suspiciously. What was his plan? There was no way he was just trying to be altruistic, not someone like Rantaro. He was a male, after all! One who was always travelling, at that! What kind of monster felt the need to spread his twisted net that far!? 

“What are you doing?” she asked, looking down at the floor.

The boy frowned, “Doing? I’m trying to lend a hand. Is that… not okay? I can leave, if you want.”

Tenko wanted to tell him to get out. At least, most of her did. How exactly the minority won, keeping her quiet, she wasn’t sure. A distraction from the hole eating her up from the inside did sound appealing, though.

“J-just don’t try anything fishy…” she muttered, but coming from her, it made Rantaro beam with happiness.

“No worries, I won’t,” he assured, sliding the first disc into the player beneath her wall-mounted TV. Tenko wasn’t exactly sure why, as she settled down on the edge of her bed, but she believed him. Rantaro himself sat on the floor a few feet away from her, back leaned against the wall and looking quite content, all things considered.

As her janky old player sputtered and struggled to start up, Tenko found herself glancing between Rantaro and the stuffed bear she held in her arms curiously.

“You look like you have something to say,” the boy observed.

“I…” she murmured, “W-well… I just didn’t know you had so many sisters. I didn’t think anybody had that many sisters, actually.”

Rantaro’s smile carried with it a distinct tone of sadness, but Tenko was too unsure to question it, “Yeah, well… I guess I don’t really mention them all that often. Shuichi knows, and I think he told Maki, but that’s about it.”

The aikido master nodded slowly, “What are their names? If you don’t mind.”

She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to be so polite. Maybe it was just returning the strange kindness that this degenerate was showing her.

“No problem. Youngest to oldest, it’s Honoka, Uta, Kaida, Fuyume, Azami, Kawa, Naomi, Hikari, Inari, Isuzu, Yukiko, and Sugi. The bear was Kaida’s. She named him Bamboo, because she was six years old and very uncreative.”

Tenko found a weak smile gracing her face, “So many little sisters… I’m almost jealous, they sound so cute…”

Rantaro nodded wistfully, “Yeah, they… they were. Real cute. Whenever they weren’t pestering me to do their hair or nails or anything like that.”

The aikido master blinked, “Why the past tense? Do you not think they’re cute anymore?”

Rantaro’s lack of an immediate reply sent a wave of discomfort through the girl on the bed. She looked up to observe him and found his expression sullen and blank.

“They, uh…” he sighed, “They… aren’t with me anymore. I… I lost them.”

Oh.

OH.

“O-OH!” Tenko felt a wave of remorse crash over her. She had had no idea she had been hitting a nerve that must be as sore as that, “I… uhm… I’m… sorry.”

“Don’t be,” the boy waved a dismissive hand, “It’s… my fault, anyways. I’m a pretty awful big brother, honestly.”

Tenko raised an eyebrow, “You mean… you got your sisters killed?”

Rantaro’s eyes snapped wide, “N-no! Nothing like that, I… oh, you’ve misunderstood me, heh. Sorry.”

Tenko just cocked her head at him.

“My sisters, they aren’t dead. I meant ‘lost’ very literally. I… have no idea where they are. They could be anywhere in the world, honestly.”

The girl furrowed her brow. How exactly did one misplace a sibling? Did these girls not have cell phones? Still though, the sad look on Rantaro’s face made her not want to push the issue further.

“I’m… sorry to hear that,” she said honestly, feeling a stab of pity for the green-haired boy.

Rantaro didn’t reply as her machine finally got the movie running, and the pair sat in silence for a while as it played. Tenko squished the panda, “Bamboo”, apparently, beneath her chin and found a small degree of comfort in the company of both toy and classmate.

About halfway through the movie, Tenko turned to glance at Rantaro out of curiosity. His gaze wasn’t actually on the television, but rather trained on the floor as his eyes flickered with a deep pensiveness. 

“Hey, male?” she asked softly.

He glanced up at her, “Yeah? Something wrong?”

“Why are you here? Like, why come to help me out like this?”

Rantaro thought for a moment, before smiling, “Well… I guess I’m not too unfamiliar with heartache. I recognized the expression you had when you left the classroom, I’ve seen it a lot in the mirror. I just wanted to help, if only a little.”

Tenko furrowed her brow, “How could you be familiar with what I’m feeling?”

He just shrugged. Tenko got the distinct sense that there was something he wasn’t telling her, but she supposed she didn’t mind. She spooned herself a bowl of the ice cream and began eating it, relishing in the sugary escape from the thoughts that troubled her as the movie continued.

As the credits began to roll, Tenko found herself smiling slightly.

“Hey, now, that’s more like it,” Rantaro nodded, looking up at her, “Depression and self-pity are not good colors on you, if you don’t mind my saying.”

The girl figured she should have been more offended by that than she was, instead bantering back, “You don’t look so good in them yourself. You’ve been down in the dumps just as much as I am for a while now.”

The boy’s eyebrow twitched, and while his expression didn’t betray it, Tenko got the feeling she had just cut straight to a point he’d been trying to hide. He caught himself on a net of a kind smile and a sheepish chuckle, but she could sense something there. Something deep. 

“Yeah, alright, maybe so,” he sighed, “But we aren’t here to psychoanalyze me. What about you? Are you feeling any better?”

Tenko gulped, the memory of Himiko’s stinging words returning to her once more.

“A little,” she forfeited, “Your… distractions did help a bit, so… thanks. But I’m still not… great, you know.”

The boy nodded, “Didn’t expect you to be. You wanna talk about it now?”

The answer was no. A degenerate male did not have any place learning of her innermost pain, regardless of how helpful he had been to alleviating some of it.

“...only if you promise not to tell anybody else.”

Tenko blinked. Had she really just said that? It went against her first, instinctual response, it even went against her very thoughts, yet it hadn’t carried the tell-tale bitter taste of a lie as it left her mouth.

Rantaro nodded, scooching a little closer on the floor, while still maintaining a comfortable distance, “I promise.”

Tenko squirmed under his warm gaze. It wasn’t right! What was she doing!? This went against everything that master had ever taught her! Rantaro must be tricking her somehow! Was there an odd scent in the air? Maybe he had sprayed some kind of brainwashing cologne on himself! Maybe that was it! Tenko opened her mouth to accuse him, possibly insult him, to get to the heart of this issue.

“I just… want a friend,” was what came out instead. Her voice, which she had readied to be strong and angry, instead sounded like that of a small child who had just scraped their knee. She clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, eyes wide only to find Rantaro giving her a sympathetic smile.

“I understand that,” he replied, “I know what it’s like to be lonely. Is there nobody else in our class you can go to?”

“Not really…” her voice came despite herself, “Kaede and Maki get too offended when I try to protect them from you men, Kirumi gets exasperated with me pretty easily, and I just don’t really mesh with Tsumugi or Miu, and…”

She trailed off, but Rantaro understood the issues with the names she hadn’t said.

“Look, Tenko,” he sighed, “Angie is creepy and manipulative at the best of times, so don’t let what Himiko said to you today damage your self-esteem. She… she’s a little misguided, and while your attempt to get her back didn’t work out the way you wanted, it doesn’t mean you should just abandon that friendship. I’m pretty sure Himiko needs a friend like you right now, probably more than ever, even if she doesn’t realize it.”

The aikido master blinked. She hadn’t even considered that. Himiko’s word was gospel to her, after all, she hadn’t even considered going against it.

But… after all, she supposed, those words weren’t really Himiko’s. They had come from the mage’s mouth, yes, but they had been put there by Angie. She was the real enemy.

Rantaro fumbled backwards in surprise as Tenko leapt to her feet, standing up in a battle-ready position, “That’s it! If Angie is trying to separate me from dear Himiko, then I’ll just have to take her back! HAIYAH!”

Tenko kicked the air for dramatic effect, which brought a smile to Rantaro’s face as he stood up as well.

“See, there you go,” he chuckled, “That’s the Tenko Chabashira I know.”

Tenko smiled at him, “Yeah! My sincerest apologies for allowing you to see me so vulnerable! Please forget what you saw!”

The boy rolled his eyes, “Sure thing. Just glad I could be of some assistance.”

Tenko’s posture slacked slightly as she realized that he was right. Without his interference, she probably would have taken much longer to come to that conclusion, if at all. Praying that her bangs hid her red face, she bowed down low and murmured, “Uhm… yes, ah… thanks.”

“No problem,” he smiled, “Anytime.”

The girl bounced back up into a straight posture and nodded, already bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager.

“Now before I go shake some sense back into my dear Himiko,” she said, “Here. You can take him back now.”

Rantaro glanced down at what was in her outstretched hand, finding Bamboo the panda there waiting. His gaze flickered with sadness for a second, before he shook his head.

“You know what? Keep him,” he smirked, “You’ll get more use out of him than I will, I’m sure. He’s been sitting in a box in my closet for a while now, and you looked comfortable with him.”

Tenko balked, “W-what? But he belongs to your sister, right? I could never---”

“BELONGED to my sister,” Rantaro corrected, “And besides, she wouldn’t mind, wherever she is. I think she’d like you, anyway.”

Tenko flushed slightly at the thought of some precious young girl deeming her worthy of such a gift. Even if it was through her brother by proxy, she felt somewhat honored.

“W-well in that case…” she murmured, looking back into the buttons of the bear, “I’ll make sure to honor this gift! Thank you, Rantaro.”

The boy just blinked, a shocked expression painting his face.

“Is… something wrong?” Tenko asked.

“N-no!” he broke out into a beaming smile, “It’s just… that was the first time you’ve ever actually called me by name, instead of just “degenerate” or “male” or whatever else.”

Tenko’s eyes widened. She had known the boy for months! Had she really never said his name out loud to him? That seemed impossible, but he had already proven that his memory was better than hers…

“Ah, uhm…” she suddenly felt very uncomfortable, “...sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry, I understand,” he smiled, “Anyway, I should get out of your hair. You have a strategy to plan, right?”

Tenko nodded enthusiastically, “Angie won’t know what hit her! You had better not show up to classes tomorrow!”

Rantaro balked, before laughing out loud, “Not too sure you realize the implications of that statement, but I appreciate the warning, heh heh.”

The boy quickly gathered up everything else he had brought into his satchel and slipped his shoes on, casting one final smile over his shoulder at her.

“See you, Tenko. And thanks for letting me keep you company.”

Rantaro opened the door, and was about to leave, before Tenko called after him, “Uhm… one more thing, Rantaro!”

“Yeah?” he asked.

Tenko blushed, poking her index fingers together awkwardly as she murmured, “Uhm… your sisters, I… I hope you find them.”

The boy blinked at her, before smiling sadly, “Me too, Tenko. Me too.”

With that, the door shut, and Tenko became shockingly aware of how suddenly empty her dorm room felt.

“Alright!” she shook her head to focus, “First things first, I must store energy!”

Not even bothering to change into pajamas, the aikido master jumped into her bed and threw the covers over herself, flicking off the lights for a power nap. She had three hours still before she had to be at the dojo, and she needed some energy to spare if she intended to confront Angie after she finished her training with her master.

Bamboo found his way against her chest once again, and Tenko realized that he carried the same flowery scent that Rantaro usually did. She had assumed it was the boy’s shampoo or something, but if it carried over to a stuffed animal that never saw the light of day, perhaps it was just his natural scent.

As she curled up for her nap, Tenko was surprised to find that, if anything, the scent only made her snuggle the bear even closer to herself, but that was a thought she chose not to examine.

\-----  
HOPE’S PEAK ACADEMY STUDENT E-HANDBOOK ALERT  
STUDENT SUPPORT LEVEL INCREASED

[Tenko Chabashira] HAS ATTAINED SUPPORT LEVEL [C] WITH [Rantaro Amami].

CHANGING RELEVANT DATA…  
\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired of putting Amacha in the background of other ships when I write for Danganronpa.
> 
> I need my fix.
> 
> Also, I took about 5 days off to catch up on uni work, and I had not one, not two, but three people in my comments asking what's next and when. I dunno if I should be flattered or overwhelmed.


	2. Level B

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Trigger Warning!-
> 
> This chapter makes slight reference to emotional abuse and sexual abuse within a relationship.
> 
> Reader discretion is advised.

Tenko’s arms ached as she stood panting, trying not to fall to her knees from fatigue. Across the dojo, her upperclasswoman, Akane Owari, stood up and began dusting herself off.

“Oh, man!” Akane exclaimed, looking at the area of wooden wall where her body had impacted, “Those throws of yours are no joke! I can barely get close to ya!”

Tenko beamed at the praise, “Thank you! I don’t have the title of ‘Ultimate’ for no reason, you know, you’ll have to be much faster to get behind my defenses!”

Akane grinned viciously, “Awwright! Now you’re speakin’ my language! Let’s go for round fifty-six!”

Tenko wiped a few droplets of sweat from her forehead. Had they really been going for fifty-five rounds so far? Come to think of it, Tenko had largely lost track of time soon after being asked to help train with the gymnast, and that had been early afternoon. Glancing out the window, the sun was already set, and given the time of year, that meant it was probably between seven and eight PM.

“Erm… I think I should actually take a break,” she panted, “At least until my arms remember how to work, I mean…”

Akane sighed, rolling her eyes, “Awwww, come onnnn. We’re just getting started!”

If there was supposed to be sarcasm in the girl’s tone, Tenko worryingly did not find it.

“M-maybe some other time,” she assured, rubbing her palms over her biceps in an attempt to coax feeling back into them, “I’m beat… but thank you for this! I was able to get a lot of valuable practice!”

Akane just shrugged, before sniffing her armpit and making a face, “Whoof. I’m gonna hit the showers, I guess. Come on, you look like you could use one, too.”

Tenko instantly bolted upright, the mental image that probably soon awaited her in real life sending a lightning bolt of energy through her, “Y-yes! Right away!”

The two girls headed to the showers in a side room off the dojo, and washed up together. While she certainly wasn’t a degenerate male, Tenko had to resist the urge to look too long at the gymnast’s… pronounced features. She was only human, after all, aikido-disciplined or not.

“You gotta show me how to do that overhead chuck sometime!” Akane smiled as she buttoned up her shirt, “I bet I could even catch Coach Nekomaru with surprise with that one!”

Tenko’s nose crinkled in disgust, “Yes, right… Nekomaru… that male hasn’t done anything inappropriate with you, has he?”

Akane blinked, “No? Whadda ya mean?”

The aikido master shrugged, “You know how men are, and you’re… well, I’m sure you’re well aware of what you are, heh… so do I need to pay him an unpleasant visit?”

The gymnast shook her head, “Naw, Coach Nekomaru ain’t like that. He’s a cool guy, most of the dudes in my class are. Teruteru, yeah, you know his issues, but I trust most of ‘em.”

“Alright then, but you let me know, okay? I know you can take care of yourself, but if there’s ever a male that needs disposing of and you’ve got our hands full already, I’m always ready for a tussle with some degenerates!”

Akane laughed, swinging her bag over her shoulder, “Ya know, you should give some of the dudes in your class a chance, girl. Sure, that masked guy and the gremlin creep me out, but having sparred with him a few times, Gonta seems cool.”

Tenko sighed. Gonta could put up a kind and gentle front, sure, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. Granted, the longer the naivety kept being consistent, the more the odds of it being an act decreased, but the seemingly gentle giant wasn’t in the clear yet in her book. Besides, Miu did keep making comments about the size of… one of his appendages, and while it was possible that she was just joking around like she usually did, Tenko did not like how certain the inventor sounded whenever she said it. Almost like she had first-hand experience…

Tenko shook her head to clear it. In no way was that the mental image she needed right now.

“I mean, seriously,” Akane continued, laughing, “Lemme see your handbook, huh? Do you even have any levels with any guys? You’ve been coming here for eight months now, you seriously been avoiding ‘em all?”

Before Tenko could react, Akane swiped Tenko’s handbook off of where it sat on the bench beside her, turning it on.

“H-hey!” the aikido master exclaimed, standing up indignantly.

Akane flicked through the report cards of Tenko’s classmates and peers, various expressions passing by her tanned face as she scrolled. Hope’s Peak student handbooks had a feature where they tracked student interactions and relationships, and recorded the strength of a relationship on a scale from F to S. If you don’t have a strong opinion of someone yet, they are not assigned a rank. F meant you despised the individual with every fiber of your being, and S was, well, you get the idea.

“One? That’s it?” Akane rolled her eyes, “You’ve only got a positive relationship with one dude on the whole campus?”

“D-don’t just focus on that!” Tenko protested, “You make it sound like nobody likes me! I have good rapport with many women!”

The gymnast nodded, muttering to herself as she scrolled, “C with most of the girls in your class, B with Himiko and Kirumi… and D or F with every dude, with one exception. Who’s this Rantaro guy, anyway?”

Tenko seized the moment of distraction to swipe the handbook back from Akane’s hands, stuffing it into her pocket, “R-Rantaro is nothing more than a man who proved that he has some capacity for kindness, that’s it!”

“Uh-huh,” Akane’s eye twinkled as the pair made their way out into the twilight outdoors. It was a slightly misty night, and Tenko found herself enjoying the brisk evening air as she walked in tandem back to the dorm complex alongside her upperclasswoman.

“Hey, look who it is,” Akane pointed towards a tree about twenty feet off the main path, once they were halfway to the dorms. Tenko glanced up at where she was pointing to find a familiar figure, obscured slightly by the evening mist, holding a phone up to his face. 

By the dim electronic light casting over his features, Tenko could see that Rantaro looked troubled. Deeply troubled. Nobody else was around, given the hour, so now that her attention was diverted, she could make out some of what he was saying.

“Listen, I’m…” she heard a pained tone in his voice, “I’m just confused. Where the hell is this coming from?”

A few beats of silence. Tenko could see Akane eyeing her curiously from the corner of her eye.

“What are you saying? This isn’t like you at all!”

…

“Yasui, what are you…”

…

“...wha...t…?”

…

“A… lie?”

…

“Oh… I see. So… huh. Right. Of course.”

…

“Go to hell, Yasui. If that’s even your name.”

Tenko’s eyes widened as, rather than hanging up the phone like a normal human being, Rantaro instead elected to pitch it hard into the ground, letting it shatter and fall to pieces all around him. After a few seconds, a pained sob echoed across the empty courtyard, and the boy fell to his hands and knees, shoulders quivering.

“Uh… you know what?” Akane patted Tenko on the shoulder, “I… think I’m gonna let you deal with that.”

“H-hey! What makes you think---” Tenko span on the gymnast, only finding a cloud of dust indicating that the girl was already long gone. She groaned, but couldn’t deny the stabbing feeling of concern as she looked back at where the adventurer kneeled, seemingly not having noticed her yet.

Hesitantly, Tenko took a step forwards. She wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to do here. Perhaps it would be best to let him be and continue on her way. After all, she didn’t know the situation, not to mention the fact that he was a man.

A man that, admittedly, had helped Tenko out in the past.

Ugh. She had to pay it back, didn’t she.

Tenko sighed, ignoring a flash of some strange emotion as she slowly approached the adventurer. If he heard her tentative footfalls on the grass, he didn’t look up.

“Deg… erm, Rantaro?” she asked, voice unusually soft, “Are you… feeling alright?”

The boy’s green hair swished like a commercial as his head snapped up, eyes indentifying her presence for the first time.

“O-oh, Tenko,” he sniffled, quickly standing and wiping the tears away from his cheeks, “I ah… I didn’t see you. You, uhm… need something?”

Tenko furrowed her brow as she noticed his hasty movements. Was he seriously trying to pretend he hadn’t been sobbing on his hands and knees just now?

“You can cut that out,” she deadpanned, “I’ve been here for a while, I know something’s up.”

Rantaro stiffened for a moment, before sighing, “Ah… sorry about that. I didn’t notice you. I’m… I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“What even was ‘that’? You smashed your phone, Rantaro, you’re clearly upset about something.”

The boy flashed her a sheepish smile and scratched at the back of his head, but the gesture was unusually hollow. Usually, the boy’s expressions were much easier to evaluate, but he was clearly putting up a front for her benefit. 

“I’m losing my patience, male,” she fumed, crossing her arms, “I’m being kind enough to offer my ear to you, you shouldn’t squander this kindness.”

Rantaro gulped, his false expression falling in an instant. She could see a deep hurt in his eyes, as well as it seeming like he was mulling something over, before he eventually sighed.

“Alright, fine,” he shook his head, “But… I’m sorry, but I’m a little worried to tell you, especially.”

She raised her eyebrow, “And why is that?”

The boy bit his lower lip, trying to place the right words, “Well… you might not… take the right side, is all.”

Tenko frowned. The adventurer looked… incredibly uncomfortable, now that his facade of okay-ness had subsided. In the dim twilight, Tenko could see his shoulders both drooped and tensed up. His posture was slumped, his fingers fidgety, and of course, his eyes were red and puffy. He was in pretty rough shape, and a pang of empathy shot through her, breaking down the tough wall she had erected somewhat.

“How about I just listen, and I don’t have to take a side?” she asked softly, “You listened to my problems a couple months ago, remember? I owe you the favour, at least.”

Surprise flitted through Rantaro’s eyes, before he slowly nodded with a sigh.

“Fair enough, then,” he frowned, “I guess it might do me some good to tell somebody for a change. That was, ah… my… well, my ex-girlfriend, Yasui.”

“Ex? Why would you two still be in correspondence?”

That got a weak, sad chuckle from him, “Ah, well… she’s only my ex as of a couple minutes ago, you see… that’s what that was. We, ah… we just broke up.”

Tenko’s eyes widened. She was about to accuse him of doing something that would prompt a breakup, before she remembered her promise, as well as his concern that she would ‘take the wrong side’ whatever that meant. So for now, she decided she would remain neutral in her questioning.

“What happened?” she asked.

A spark of pain lit in Rantaro’s eyes as his gaze drifted down to the dirt, “Well, she… uhm… she cheated on me. With… numerous people. Apparently, it’s been going on the entire time we’ve been together, and I didn’t know…”

Oh. Tenko felt flashes of both pity and self-ridicule. She had assumed Rantaro had been the aggressor instantly. Hadn’t even questioned the innocence of a girl she didn’t even know. That must have been why he had been worried about telling her. She felt… bad.

“I…” she swallowed a ball that had formed in her throat, “I’m sorry, Rantaro. Uhm… why would she have done that?”

“Based on the explanation she gave? Seems like she’d been lying about a lot of things. Her feelings for me included.”

Tenko raised an eyebrow, but allowed him to continue.

“The phone call you witnessed… she was just, uhm… informing me that she’d only been with me… for the money… and since I wasn’t just showering her in it like she had thought I would… she’s…”

He trailed off, a tear rolling down his face. Tenko was shocked. Rantaro Amami, the guy who radiated an aura of a born-and-raised misogynistic heartbreaker… had gotten his own heart broken? By a gold digger?

“Oh, Rantaro…” she murmured, taking a slight step closer to him. She could see his shoulders beginning to quake as his bangs hung down over his eyes, probably preventing her from seeing the tears welling up in his eyes.

“I-It’s my f-fault…” his pained whisper just barely reached her, even with the proximity, “I-I got stupid… T-thought that s-she’d be d-different, but…”

“Different?” Tenko asked softly, “Different from what?”

The boy swallowed roughly, “F-from the past… I… I-I’m a little bit p-pathetic, I guess… This is t-the third time s-something like this has happened…”

The aikido master’s eyes widened, “Third!? This has happened before!?”

Rantaro’s nod was almost unplaceable given how much his body was trembling in the once-soothing, now-suffocating evening air. Tenko wasn’t sure how to feel anymore at all. This wasn’t how it worked. Men oppressed women. They toyed with them, broke their hearts. It was up to Tenko to punish those degenerates for their depravity, that was why she was so committed to her Neo-Aikido. 

Yet, here before her, was a viable challenge to that notion. A heartbreaker, with a heart of his own having been torn to pieces. Three separate times. Each time by a shallow, heartless girl who thought nothing of him other than how deep into his pockets they could reach. It made Tenko sick, both at the girls and at herself, for assuming so much with so little information. 

And then Tenko realized. 

Rantaro’s easy, hollow shell that he displayed to women. The front that he put up whenever he was around them of the “cool, aloof type”. It wasn’t to manipulate them. It wasn’t to get in their pants by painting some “man of mystery” facade that they couldn’t resist.

It was a defense mechanism. Much like her own displays of power when around other girls, it was a fortress she erected around herself to keep others from seeing how she really felt.

How desperate for a friend she really was. 

“Rantaro…” she murmured, taking another step forwards, putting them within whispering distance, “You… it’s not your fault. I’m… I’m really sorry that happened to you, and so many times, too. I… I don’t know what I would do if that happened to me even once, let alone three times…”

“Yeah, well,” the adventurer’s chuckle was dark and rueful, “I’d agree with you if it was just the once, but three is a pattern, Tenko. Tell me, what is it about me that just screams ‘sucker’, huh? Because clearly it must be public knowledge at this point, if they keep coming to me with this crap…”

“Rantaro, I… don’t think it’s something about you. Other than you wanting what they were offering, or at least what they were pretending.”

The boy was silent.

Tenko pressed on, giving voice to the guilt she felt, “I… I want to apologize to you. I… have probably said some things to or about you that were… uncalled for, and I apologize for that.”

Rantaro let out a shaky breath, “It’s… a-alright, Tenko, I… understand.”

She shook her head, “No, you… you don’t. I don’t trust men, but I’m usually a better judge of which ones to really look out for and which ones are fine enough, and… I misjudged you. So… sorry.”

Rantaro wiped his cheeks on his sleeve, offering her a small smile through the pain, “Alright. I accept your apology. Now, do you think you could let go of my hand? You’re kinda crushing it.”

Eyes shooting wide, Tenko’s gaze whipped down to find that at some point she had unconsciously taken the boy’s hand in her own. She was squeezing pretty tightly in what she presumed was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but her knuckles were white as a sheet.

“A-AH!” she exclaimed, yanking her hand back. A man! She had unknowingly taken a MAN’S HAND! For who knows how long!? Her power must be so depleted right now! How could she not have noticed!?

Except… she didn’t actually feel any weaker. And since she was sharing something like a moment with this boy, she wasn’t about to toss him to test that out, but… the sensation was odd. 

“S-sorry…” she offered as he nursed his hand with his other one.

“Don’t worry about it,” he sighed, his gaze sullen and faraway.

The pair stood alone for a few seconds, just taking in the somber ambiance as the twilight evening began to shift into darkness.

“Yasui, you said her name was?” she asked quietly, “Uhm… were there ever any signs?”

Rantaro shook his head, “None that I picked up on. She was… so kind. So caring, so… everything other than what she was like just now. I still can’t believe it was all an act…”

“So you were happy with her then?” Tenko wasn’t really sure where this curiosity was coming from.

The adventurer hesitated, his firm jawline set.

“Is that… a no?” she asked.

“I…” he sighed, “I don’t know if I’d say I was unhappy, exactly, but I guess thinking back with all this in mind… there were a few things that… made me uncomfortable.”

Tenko nodded, “Well… would you tell me about that, then? I mean, if you think it would help, since you helped me out before…”

The boy swallowed, nodding slowly, “Uhm… it’s… a little embarrassing, honestly.”

“I won’t tell anybody.”

The boy eyed her, and Tenko saw a hint of distrust, or at least uncertainty in his eyes. That made sense. The wound was still fresh, after all, he was bound to be circling the emotional wagons in that pretty head of his.

“On the practice of Neo-Aikido,” she assured him, “It doesn’t leave this spot.”

A moment of silence passed, before Rantaro sighed and nodded, “Alright. It’s nothing much, but… there were a few times that she… may have made me do things that I… wasn’t comfortable with.”

Her eyebrow raised, “Nothing illegal, right?”

“No, nothing like that. It was, erm… sorry, just… you sure you want to know?”

Tenko nodded. She wasn’t sure if her insistence on helping the boy was just the sunk-cost fallacy at this point, or if there was something else guiding her words, but she chose to stick this one out for her friend.

Because, that’s what she was slowly realizing, maybe that’s what Rantaro was to her. A friend.

“Well… how to put this delicately…” he murmured, voice pained, “Uhm… let’s just say my… tastes… are pretty simple. And hers were… less so. Much less so. And when I… tried to deny any of that, or tried to stop any of it… she would get all sad and hurt, acting like I wasn’t pulling my weight in the relationship, and I would feel so guilty that I’d let her… and I’d just grin and bear it…”

Tenko swallowed, “I’m… sorry, I’m still a little confused.”

That elicited a cheap, hollow chuckle, “Yeah, sorry. I’m just not really sure how to put it other than that without being… indecent.”

The aikido master sighed, “I already know I’m on your side, Rantaro. And I’m not naive, you can tell me how it is, I don’t mind.”

Rantaro nodded slowly, before grimacing and gulping, “A-alright, to put it blandly… she guilt-tripped me into consenting to a lot of sexual stuff that I… I really didn’t want done to me, but…”

The boy was cut off as he noticed a bead of water splash against the mud below. He must have thought it was beginning to rain, as he glanced upwards for a moment, before his eyes found Tenko, and he stopped cold.

“R-Rantaro…” Tenko’s voice was pained as another tear made its way down her other cheek, “I’m… I’m so s-sorry…”

“Why?” he asked, “I mean, it wasn’t your fault, it’s hers. Well, and kinda mine, too, for being that dumb---”

“NO!” she cried, taking another step towards him so that she could look directly up into his eyes, “D-don’t blame yourself for something like that! That’s horrible! I can’t b-believe a girl would be so cruel to you!”

Rantaro tore his eyes away from hers, seemingly angry at himself, “Tenko… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have dropped all of that on you. I know how partial you are to girls in comparison to guys, I knew I shouldn’t have let you in on all that. You were just trying to be kind, I didn’t mean to make you---”

Tenko surprised the both of them by wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug. She forced down a jolt of instinctual panic at the physical contact with a male, because right now, she knew he wouldn’t drain her power. 

Right now, the only thing she would be giving him was comfort, the very thing he had given her that day two months prior. If he needed a hug to accomplish that, so be it.

They were friends, after all.

Rantaro was silent, probably stunned, for a long while. He was five inches taller than her usually, but his sulking posture made it so that she could comfortably position her chin to rest on his shoulder as she stroked his back with her thumb reassuringly. Slowly, but surely, he began to quiver against her touch, and she knew what he was holding back.

“You can let it go,” she whispered, “Remember? Nothing leaves this spot. You can trust me.”

As she said the word “trust”, Tenko felt two shaking hands hesitantly wrap themselves around her back. His grip wasn’t forceful, nor confining in any way. Even as he began to sob into her shoulder, the convulsions racking his body, he was doing everything he could to make sure she felt safe with him, and Tenko found her respect for the boy growing by the second.

Soon, the girl found the sobs to be somewhat contagious, as she began to cry herself not long after the hug began. Whether she was crying tears of empathy, or tears of relief and happiness, or maybe a combination of the two, she wasn’t sure. 

Even when the tears subsided over five minutes later, Tenko didn’t release the boy until he had completely stopped shaking. Then, she held him out at arm’s length.

“T-thank you, Tenko…” he murmured, a genuine smile crossing his lips for the first time that night.

“No problem,” she answered honestly. 

“It’s late, we should get back to our dorms…” Rantaro glanced up at the sky, now beginning to be dotted with stars.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Tenko felt a pang of concern once more, “You’ll… be okay on your own, right?”

“I should be, yeah…” he smiled back.

“Good. Because if you need him, I can lend you Bamboo back for the night, you know, it’s the least I could do.”

That got a light laugh from the boy, “You’ve done more than enough. Really, thank you. I’m surprised you remember the name of that stuffed animal, heh.”

“Why wouldn’t I remember it? It’s been in my bed for two months, I’d imagine the name of somebody you sleep with every night would be hard to forget.”

The laugh that that joke got was much heartier than the first, and it warmed Tenko’s chest to hear him coming back to his usual self.

They walked back to the dorms together that night, with them bidding farewell outside Rantaro’s door since he was closer to the entrance. Tenko left him with a final, reassuring squeeze of the shoulder and a respectful nod, before he waved goodbye with a smile and shut the door softly.

\-----  
HOPE’S PEAK ACADEMY STUDENT E-HANDBOOK ALERT  
STUDENT SUPPORT LEVEL INCREASED

[Tenko Chabashira] HAS ATTAINED SUPPORT LEVEL [B] WITH [Rantaro Amami].

CHANGING RELEVANT DATA…  
\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering, what I have envisioned for Tenko's relationship chart is as follows.
> 
> Rantaro Amami: B  
> Kaede Akamatsu: C+  
> Kirumi Tojo: B  
> Angie Yonaga: D  
> Miu Iruma: C  
> Kokichi Oma: F  
> Tsumugi Shirogane: C+  
> Maki Harukawa: C  
> Himiko Yumeno: B+  
> Mahiru Koizumi: C  
> Sakura Ogami: C  
> Akane Owari: C
> 
> Everybody else, her opinions of are either too undeveloped or too up in the air to place a letter grade to, so the system wouldn't display one.
> 
> Also, earlier today, I decided to do some math. I started on AO3 on January 8th, which means I've been posting here for 73 days. In that time, I've posted 13 fics of varying length, totalling 205,903 words in total, as of this chapter. Dividing that by the number of days, that means that I've been writing an average of 2821 words per day since I started, and that's including days I took completely off.
> 
> Good lord.


	3. Level A

Tenko liked to believe she had a sixth sense for when a woman was in trouble. Kokichi referred to it as a “spidey-sense”, whatever that meant, but it suddenly began blaring as soon as she stepped foot into the secondary campus building that morning. 

The aikido master quickly pivoted and dashed down a side hallway, following her instincts. As she approached, she could clearly hear some muffled male shouting, which set her irritation into overdrive. Whatever was going on, if her instincts were to be believed, a woman was in peril, and a man was involved. 

Tenko rounded the corner on the ball of her foot, sinking into aikido stance in preparation to ward off whatever degenerate would dare raise his voice to a lady. The image that she was met with, however, was hardly the typical scene that she was used to involving herself in.

“THE HELL’D YOU SAY TO ME!?” Mondo Owada shouted, shaking an aggressive fist at the other boy across the hall from him.

“You have some nerve, bro!” Kiyotaka Ishimaru shot back, “We must debate this thoroughly!”

Mondo looked like he intended to resolve whatever this spat was in a much less formal way than a verbal debate, and Tenko knew she might have to intervene as soon as she saw the poor girl who had clearly gotten caught up in the middle of all of this.

“Jeez!” came the trademarked exasperation of Mahiru Koizumi, “What the hell is going on out here!? People are trying to attend class, you two! Be quiet!”

“SHUT IT!” Mondo shouted back at her, “There’s some shit I can’t let fly! This guy’s gotta watch his mouth!”

“HEY, DEGENERATE!” Tenko screamed, launching herself between the biker and the photographer, “How DARE you shout at Mahiru! She had the decency to try to intervene peacefully, and you disrespect her like that!? I should beat you to a pulp!”

“I agree!” Taka shouted, “I cannot overlook you shouting at someone who isn’t even involved! Not cool, bro!”

Mondo blanched, before sighing gruffly, “Shit… you’re right, sorry. Shouting at chicks ain’t cool, that’s on me. But still, don’t get involved! This is between him and me, right here right now!”

“I’m afraid he’s right, you two,” Taka shook his head at the women, “Could you please just leave us to resolve this? My sincerest apologies for the noise in the hallway.”

“That’s hardly the only issue!” Mahiru stamped her foot indignantly, “Look around! This crap out of you two has made an enormous mess! People have to walk through here, you know!”

Tenko glanced around, tearing her eyes away from glaring between the two men for long enough to notice that Mahiru had a point. Paper and junk littered the hallway around them, and she could see several tipped over trash cans, each spilling their putrid contents onto the floor.

“UGH!” she exclaimed, whipping on Taka, “Ultimate Moral Compass, my foot! I should have known better to get my hopes up for you, MALE! Aren’t you supposed to be a hall monitor!?”

Taka’s eyes widened as he took in the scene around him, seemingly remembering that a world outside of his conflict with Mondo existed for the first time, “U-ugh… it’s just as you say… I cannot apologize enough for this disgraceful drop in conduct…”

“And you, Mondo!” Mahiru exclaimed, “I thought you two were supposed to be friends! What the heck brought all this crap on?”

“Well, THIS GUY---” Mondo shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the moral compass before freezing.

“What?” Tenko asked, looking between both men to find similarly perplexed expressions on both of their faces.

“Bro…” Taka stroked his chin, “Do you… remember why we were fighting?”

“Nah…” Mondo shook his head, “Now that you mention it…”

Beside Tenko, Mahiru’s jaw dropped open in sheer incredulity, “You have got to be kidding me. You don’t even remember!? JEEZ, you boys are so useless sometimes!”

“Just say the word, and they don’t see tomorrow, Mahiru,” Tenko whispered, eyes never leaving her targets.

“Ah… no, I guess that won’t be necessary…” the photographer shook her head, “But you two better clean this up! You’re equally responsible for this mess, after all! And if I hear from Kirumi that she helped you out, I’ll be notifying Headmaster Kirigiri about this, got it!?”

“Urgh… yes, of course,” Taka nodded, “I’m… sorry, bro.”

“Yeah, me too, bro,” Mondo clasped his ‘bro’ on the shoulder, “I got the trash cans, alright? Only fittin’ for me to handle those…”

“Bro…”

“Bro…”

“We should probably leave,” Mahiru tugged Tenko lightly on the arm, “I get the feeling these two are about to start ugly-crying and hugging, and I don’t want to see that.”

“Too true,” Tenko wrinkled her nose in disgust as she followed the redhead out of the hallway.

“Thanks for interjecting like you did,” Mahiru blushed as they walked in tandem, “I… wasn’t really certain what I was gonna do when Mondo shouted at me… I was a little scared, honestly.”

“Never fear!” the aikido master smiled, “If you ever find yourself in another situation like that, my services are just a phone call away!”

The photographer nodded, before glancing down the hall and furrowing her brow, “Hey, it’s some people from your class. What are they doing out here, isn’t your homeroom in the other building?”

Tenko turned to see what Mahiru was looking at, and found three familiar forms huddled in close proximity to one another in a small alcove near a water fountain. Rantaro was the tallest present, standing out next to the significantly shorter Shuichi and Maki. Seeing Shuichi and Maki together was natural, the pair had been attached at the hip since they had started dating six months prior, but seeing them all the way over here was odd, not to mention Rantaro’s presence too.

“No clue,” Tenko frowned, “I have business in this building because the storage room with the spare punching bags is here, but I don’t know about those three…”

Mahiru shrugged, “Well, I should be off anyway. I’m meeting some friends at the reserve course building for brunch. See ya.”

Tenko waved farewell as the photographer dashed off, three bento boxes teetering in a stack in her hands. Turning briefly back to the trio, she noticed that Rantaro’s usually relaxed shoulders were squared and tense. His face was away from her, so she could only see his mop of green hair, but she had ended up growing close enough to him that she could read his body language. Whatever this conversation was about, he was very much not happy about it.

Curiosity finally getting the better of her, Tenko decided to walk up. Maki noticed her first, her crimson eyes widening as she elbowed Shuichi in the side to garner his attention.

“Ow!” the detective exclaimed, rubbing his side, “What gi--oh, uh, Tenko, uh… hi.”

“Hello Maki, Rantaro, degenerate male,” Tenko greeted the three individually, ignoring the eyeroll Shuichi gave at being the only one she didn’t address by name, “What’s going on here? Do you three have extracurriculars in this building or something?”

“N-no,” Shuichi shook his head, “We were just, uhm… you know, here by chance, heh heh.”

The aikido master raised her eyebrow at the obvious lie. Beside Shuichi, Maki rolled her eyes and sighed.

“It’s personal business between Shuichi and Rantaro,” the caregiver explained, “I’m here too because I’m in the loop, and you aren’t.”

Tenko eyed Rantaro, noticing that he hadn’t actually moved to acknowledge her new presence yet. The adventurer’s gaze was stony and grave, his jaw set and his expression downcast. His bangs hung low over his eyes, blanketing them in shade that made him appear much more brooding than she knew him to usually be.

“Is everything… alright?” she asked, glancing between the three.

Shuichi flinched beneath her questioning gaze, while Maki turned to Rantaro for confirmation. She recieved a slight nod, and taking that as good enough, she turned back to Tenko.

“No, it’s bad news,” Maki explained, “Rantaro asked Shuichi to follow up on a few leads for him, and the results weren’t ideal.”

“Leads?” Tenko asked.

“My sister,” Rantaro spoke for the first time, his voice gruff and even. Tenko instantly recognized the emotional facade, having experienced it several times before.

“One of the twelve?” she asked, “Did you find one of them?”

“A-ah, you know about his sisters?” Shuichi asked.

“Yeah, he told me about six months ago,” she nodded, “Which one?”

“Isuzu,” Rantaro sighed.

Shuichi swallowed, obviously uncomfortable, “Erm, Tenko…”

Maki cut her boyfriend off by grabbing him by the arm, “Let’s go, Shuichi.”

“B-but---”

“No buts, we’re still meeting Miu and Keebo for frozen yogurt, remember? And besides, it’s up to Rantaro what, if anything, he tells her.”

The detective sighed, before nodding. As Maki began pulling him away, he cast an apologetic look towards Tenko before turning away. Just before the pair rounded the corner and vanished, Tenko saw Maki catch Rantaro’s eye with a sympathetic upturn of the eyebrows and a respectful nod, and then she was alone with him again.

“Rantaro…” Tenko turned towards her friend, “Are you alright? What about Isuzu?”

“No, Tenko,” Rantaro’s steely voice broke halfway through her name, “No, I’m not alright. I had two leads in two different countries at the same time, so I asked Shuichi to look into one while I went to check out the other. Remember how I just got back from Portugal?”

Tenko nodded.

“Well… Shuichi was following up on a lead about Isuzu in Botswana, and… well, he found her.”

Tenko felt a jolt of both invigoration and confusion, “Wait… that’s a good thing, right? You get to see her again!”

“If only,” Rantaro was blinking much faster than usual, meaning he was fighting back tears, “He found… he found her in a churchyard in a small town. She… she’s dead. Apparently, she died almost a year ago.”

Oh, boy.

“Oh, I’m… I’m so sorry for your loss,” Tenko sighed, tentatively resting a hand on Rantaro’s lightly quivering bicep. If it were any other man, she would have been concerned about her own aikido power, but she had long since decided that Rantaro was no degenerate, man or no.

The boy nodded, lowering his head somewhat and letting out a shaky sigh, “I… It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have…”

“That’s not true,” she reassured, “You did everything you could to find her. You’re still doing everything you can to find all of them. The fact that she died is terrible, especially since she was so young, but you can’t blame yourself for that…”

“But if I hadn’t lost her in the first place---”

“If I remember correctly, her getting lost wasn’t your fault either. It’s just a series of tragic accidents, Rantaro, you shouldn’t blame yourself for everything.”

The adventurer wiped a stray tear from his cheek, “I… thank you for that, Tenko. But… it’s hard for me to accept that as reality, especially after all this time…”

The aikido master nodded and squeezed his arm supportively. Overall, in fact, Rantaro seemed to be handling this quite well, given that he had just lost a family member. Though, he had lost her years ago, and she supposed he had mourned her back then. This was just a stitch of an old scar being torn open, not a new wound.

“If you don’t mind, and if Shuichi told you…” she murmured, “How, uhm… how did she die? Was it… painless? She was so young…”

“That’s just it,” his voice cracked again, “The fact that she was so young is why she died. Tenko… apparently she died in childbirth.”

Tenko froze, “W-what!?”

Rantaro nodded, “I… I have a nephew, Tenko. Shuichi showed me a picture, he… ugh…”

The adventurer trailed off, hanging his head and tightening his posture.

“B-but how?” she asked.

“According to the townsfolk, the father was the son of the family there who took her in. He bolted as soon as she got pregnant though, and nobody knows where he is. Vanished overnight, the ass.”

Tenko shook her head, “Typical degenerate male.”

The boy nodded, “For once, we’re on the same page about that. The… the town was small, only had one dedicated doctor who hadn’t even gone to medical school… she gave birth at home, and she just lost too much blood…”

Tenko jumped slightly as Rantaro slammed a fist into the wall he had been leaning on, and a jolt of panic rushed through her when a bead of blood dripped down from his knuckles.

“H-hey! Don’t do that!” she exclaimed. Rantaro just looked down at his ripped knuckle dully, as if not registering the pain.

“Sorry,” he muttered, stuffing his wounded hand into his pocket, “Hey, Tenko? Can I… tell you a secret?”

Tentatively, she nodded.

“I… I’m not sure I’m a good person, Tenko.”

The aikido master felt her breath hitch in her throat, “What would make you say that?”

He shook his head, “The kid… my nephew… the doctor named him Tuelo, after the deadbeat dad… he doesn’t have anybody, you know. Doesn’t even speak a lick of Japanese. I know I should be hopping a plane as soon as I can to go see him, to be a part of his life, but…”

The boy trailed off.

“But what?” Tenko prompted.

“But… when I saw that picture of him that Shuichi had…” Rantaro sighed, “He was playing in the sand, carefree as can be, and I… it made me sick. I couldn’t stop thinking that… that was the baby that killed my sister, and… I dunno…”

The girl felt her heart sink for the boy. Gently, she placed her hands on his shoulders in a gesture of comfort, “Rantaro, you’re just grieving. I remember when I lost my grandmother to sickness, I blamed the doctors for not being able to help her better, but I got over that. Your feelings are natural. You’ll get over them eventually.”

The boy glanced up at her, evaluating her words, “Tenko… why are you being so nice to me? Why are you so much kinder to me than all the other guys in our class?”

Tenko tensed. Good question.

“I think…” she began softly, “I think that a man who spends all of his free time searching for his lost little sisters, and is as kind and empathetic towards even somebody who treated him the way I treated you in the past… that man is no degenerate, Rantaro. You’ve… proven yourself to me, let’s say.”

Surprise flicked over his face for a moment, before he released a shaky sigh, “I… I see. Uhm… thank you, Tenko. I really mean that.”

“Think nothing of it!” Tenko replied, quickly pulling her hands off of his shoulders as somebody walked by, now painfully aware that the two of them were stuffed into a tight alcove in a mostly-empty hallway together. That came with implications.

“No, I’ll think something of it,” the boy looked up and finally offered her a weak smile, “You’re a really good person, Tenko. A little rough around the edges, sure, but you’re a lot better than most people give you credit for.”

“You aren’t… so bad yourself,” Tenko felt heat rising in both her chest and cheeks. What was this? What was going in with her? What was this… feeling?

“Although,” she continued, “We are going to have to go see your nephew at some point. He’s your blood, after all, you should at least try to teach him about that side of his life.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow at her, “‘we’? What do you mean, ‘we’?”

Tenko flushed, “Oh, ah, erm… did I say we?”

The boy nodded.

Inwardly, Tenko cursed herself. This idea that had been brewing in her mind for some time was supposed to be one that she broached cautiously, but oh well.

“Ah, Rantaro, I have been wondering…” she said, “What do you intend to do after graduation?”

The boy thought for a moment, “Well, I mean, I was thinking I’d start travelling full-time. There are plenty of jobs that let you fly all around the world, or maybe I could take online classes while I look for my sisters around the globe. School’s pretty much the only thing anchoring me to Japan, anyway.”

Tenko nodded, “Good. In that case, I was wondering, erm… do you think there would be room for two in that kind of life?”

Rantaro hesitated for a moment, before his eyes widened, “Oh, Tenko, I… I can’t ask you to come with me! Don’t you have your own stuff to take care of, with your master and the like? And what about your college?”

“My plan was to continue my training at the dojo with my master,” she nodded, “But I spoke with him over Christmas break, and he says I’ve learned just about all the Neo-Aikido discipline. If I went back to the dojo, I’d just be taking over teaching from him.”

“And you… don’t want to do that?”

“Of course, I’d like to do that someday,” she shook her head, “But… the practice of Neo-Aikido is a new martial art. Not many people know about it, and maybe travelling around the world for a while and spreading it out somewhat might help it grow!”

The boy was still uncertain, “But… you have no other obligations? I mean, don’t get me wrong, Tenko, I’m sure I could use a friend for something like this, but I can’t just ask you to drop everything on my behalf…”

“I can take online college with you,” she shrugged, “And besides, travelling the globe in search of lost, vulnerable young women sounds like the perfect spiritual journey for me!”

Rantaro was speechless, eyeing her with a strange sense of wonder in his eyes that made Tenko blush and look away.

“Tenko…” he whispered, voice light as a feather with a gruff undertone that stirred something deep within her.

“I-I mean, if you’ll have me along that is…” she murmured.

She felt a light, ringed hand fall gently on her shoulder. She tensed up instinctively at it, her training kicking in, but she didn’t feel threatened. Rantaro’s warm smile eased every slightest bit of tension in her body as he flashed it at her.

“If you really want to come with me after graduation,” he smiled, “I can think of nobody I’d want as a travelling partner more.”

Tenko beamed back at him, excitement already growing in her body despite graduation being years away yet. 

Simultaneously, Tenko and Rantaro felt a slight ping in their pockets, from their student handbooks. Tenko dug hers out and looked at the message displayed in the notification. It was with a strange amalgamation of shock, pride, and one other bizarre, new emotion that Tenko realized it was official. Rantaro was one of her closest friends in the world, man or no, and she realized that she didn’t mind one bit.

\-----  
HOPE’S PEAK ACADEMY STUDENT E-HANDBOOK ALERT  
STUDENT SUPPORT LEVEL INCREASED

[Tenko Chabashira] HAS ATTAINED SUPPORT LEVEL [A] WITH [Rantaro Amami].

CHANGING RELEVANT DATA…  
\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoever it was that originally created the headcanon where Tenko goes with Rantaro to find his sisters, thank you for providing us with the foundational fanon of this ship.
> 
> Should I write a level A+ chapter as well as a level S chapter? Lemme know what you think, and also if you're enjoying so far.


	4. Level A+

Tenko had experienced a lot of rough nights in her life. There had been a night early on in her training where her master hadn’t allowed her to sleep until fifty 100-pound sandbags were stacked in the corner of a barn, only to say that she had placed them in the “wrong corner” when he came to inspect her work. In the end, she had finished the job at seven in the morning, just in time to begin her actual daily training rutuals with her arms and legs screaming at her for leniency already.

That had been physical pain, though. And, in hindsight, Tenko might just have preferred to be back in that barn to this.

This… mind-numbing boredom.

When she had heard that the school would be hosting a fundraiser dance, she had originally been excited to dress up and attend a formal event with Himiko. As she could have predicted, the mage looked outstanding in her pink-and-purple bell dress, but when she saw who exactly Himiko had asked to accompany her, any hope of enjoying her night went straight out the window.

After all, how on earth was Tenko supposed to enjoy herself while sitting at a table alone, watching Himiko gracefully slow dance in the arms of the one and only Kokichi freaking Oma? The little panta gremlin kept stealing evil smirks at her over Himiko’s shoulder, too. He knew what he was doing.

Tenko stirred her mocktail by the straw and sighed idly. She hadn’t actually gotten around to asking anybody to the dance herself, so with Himiko’s time occupied, she didn’t really have anything to be doing. Frowning, she smoothed out her suit top and skirt, and fiddled with her top hat. Angie, of all people, had forced this outfit on her, and that made the aikido master a little uncomfortable. She was originally planning to just go in her usual outfit, or maybe pick up a simple dress from the bargain store that was easy to move (and fight, if need be) in, but Himiko’s little pouty face when she made to refuse the artist’s offer had melted her heart. So here she was, looking much more formal than she ever cared to appear, about seventy unnecessary dollars poorer, and still very much alone. 

The aikido master glanced around, looking desperately for a potential conversation to join. Much to her disappointment, most of the people she could see that she counted among her list of “friends” weren’t available at the moment, for one reason or another.

Kaede was up on stage, playing a beautiful slow piano melody that the couples on the dance floor were presently slow dancing to. Kirumi was sharing one such dance with a fedora-topped Korekiyo, whose intentions remained difficult to read under his mask, much to Tenko’s frustration. Miu had long since pulled Keebo out of a side entrance into a back alley, and Tenko was not about to go anywhere near that door. Maki wasn’t much of a dancer, so she and Shuichi had just taken a side table across the converted gymnasium from Tenko, and even though Kaito and Tsumugi were also present at their table, Tenko could see the bedroom eyes from all the way over here. Not exactly a conversation she wanted to get involved with.

Her female friends from the other classes weren’t much of a better bet, either. Sakura was nowhere to be seen, apparently skipping out on the dance in favour of spending the night with her boyfriend, who didn’t attend Hope’s Peak. Akane was out on the dance floor with Mondo, of all people, stepping on the biker gang leader’s toes every other step. Peko was equally unavailable, sharing a waltz with the much shorter (and much redder) Fuyuhiko, and one look at Mahiru batting her eyelashes at a brown-haired boy Tenko didn’t recognize was enough to turn her off that idea.

As for her male friends, there was really only Rantaro, and he was…

Nowhere to be found?

Tenko frowned, glancing around the gymnasium one more time. Dance floor, buffet line, lounge tables… nope, there was no sign of the signature green flop that Tenko had grown fond of. Was he not here at all, or was he perhaps engaged elsewhere in a similar fashion to Miu and Keebo?

“Have either of you seen Rantaro?” Tenko whispered over to the table beside hers, which held the unlikely (and seemingly begrudging, based on how far apart they were sitting) duo of Celestia Ludenberg and Leon Kuwata.

“Nah, haven’t seen him,” Leon shrugged, “Don’t think he’s comin’.”

“Indeed, he hasn’t been here all night,” Celestia nodded, “Such a shame. I admit he’s not my type, but I wouldn’t have exactly minded seeing such fine raw material as him in formal attire…”

Tenko immediately detached herself from that conversation, standing abruptly and walking away. Pointedly avoiding the door-that-must-not-be-touched, she made a hasty exit after casting one final glance back at Himiko. The mage’s wistful smile as she stared the gremlin in the eyes was enough to churn her stomach and eliminate any lasting reservations about skipping the dance so early. It was never going to be her scene anyways.

The aikido master sighed, removing her hat and checking her hair in a reflection from a window. It was all frizzed and ruined where the hat had been, because of course it was. Her hair remained ever uncooperative. This is precisely why she always tied it so tightly.

“I’ll just go back to my dorm and head to bed early,” she figured, “No way I’m going to get any training done with that image in my mind tonight…”

The cool evening air was brisk on her skin as she ventured across the school grounds towards the freshman dormitories. This dance wasn’t prom, but it was still coming up on the end of her first year at Hope’s Peak academy, and something about being alone on a starlit night such as this made Tenko reflect on a few things. 

One could say that she had come a long way since first stepping through the gates of the Ultimate Academy. She had made a lot of friends, most of them female, but shockingly enough, one not. If somebody had told her the day she met her classmates that she would grow as close as she had to Rantaro Amami in the next ten months, she would have called them crazy, and promptly thrown them out a window, yet here she was. In all honesty, the discovery that there were exceptions to the rule made Tenko wonder how many other respectable men she had unfairly treated in the past, but she figured it best not to dwell on it. After all, degenerates were still the majority, so it was better safe than sorry. 

Speaking of, as Tenko approached the dormitories, she spotted a silhouetted figure standing idly in front of the vending machines off the side of the building.

“Hey, Rantaro!” she waved at him as she hastened her approach. Maybe she would have some company to keep her mind off Himiko and Kokichi after all.

The adventurer turned, “Tenko! What’s up? Shouldn’t you still be at that dance thing?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she smiled, “I was surprised to not see you there. Dances not your scene?”

“Well, I can air-guitar with the best of them, but I’m not much of a dancer otherwise,” Rantaro let out a gruff laugh, “And besides, I had no reason to be there anyway.”

Tenko frowned, “No reason to be there? Did nobody ask for your company?”

“Nope. If anybody did, I don’t know if I would have said yes, anyway. When I start dating again, it has to be with the right girl this time. No more, uh…”

“...gold diggers?” Tenko finished, recalling her friend’s past experiences with romance with a slight twinge in her heart.

“Yeah,” he offered a mild smile, “What about you? I hope there isn’t some date back there wondering where you are.”

“Nope, I’m pretty alone, too. I just went to keep Himiko safe from degenerate swine, but seeing as she willingly chose to ask the likes of Kokichi to dance with her, there’s only so much I could have done. It’s out of my hands now.”

Rantaro balked, before laughing, “Seriously!? Kokichi!? I mean, I know he’s said he had a crush on her several times, but I thought he was just goofing off like normal! But if those two hit it off after all…”

“Ugh, do not make me picture that,” Tenko’s face was one of disgust, but it didn’t match her playful tone. Just by the boy’s mere lighthearted presence, her worries were evaporating.

“Right, sorry. Shame, though, you do look real sharp in that getup, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

The aikido master blushed, and took a secod to smooth out her blue suit again. It was still overly formal for her taste, but she had to admit the black thigh-high tights weren’t her least favourite thing. Any other guy, she probably would have tossed for that remark, but hearing it from Rantaro was… nice. 

“Thank you,” she smiled, “Celestia mentioned that it was a shame we wouldn’t be seeing you in formal wear.”

The boy shook his head with a smile, “Well, Celestia has a lot of fantasies, and I’d frankly like to be left out of them as much as possible. What, don’t tell me you also wanted to get me in a suit?”

Tenko blushed as the image of Rantaro in an expensive formal getup flashed into her mind. It was so against the boy’s usual baggy, casual aesthetic, but the image wasn’t at all unpleasant. In fact, the Rantaro in her mind filled the three-piece she was picturing out quite well…

A quick shake of her head quelled the heat that had begun to rise in her cheeks. But as she turned her attention back to the flesh-and-blood Rantaro in front of her, she could still feel a slightly tight sensation in her chest that wasn’t at all unpleasant.

“Tell you what,” the adventurer smiled, “Night’s young, and since nobody asked either of us to dance, why don’t I invite you into my own humble abode to hang out for a while. I’ve got Disney+, so we could binge some stuff if you want.”

All it took was a brief period of consideration before Tenko nodded, “Why not? I don’t have anything else going on tonight, after all, but you had better provide some snacks.”

Rantaro laughed as he led her up to his dorm room, “Don’t you worry about that. I arranged for a mini-fridge during my first week here. Snacks will never be an issue as long as we are friends.”

As Tenko stepped through the open doorway to Rantaro’s dorm, a room she had never actually been in before, she found herself assaulted by two very appealing sensations, one visual, one fragrant.

Visually, his room was incredibly tasteful. Cultural wall hangings adorned the walls, and the shelves held many a souveneir from his travels. There was a cozy-looking fur rug on the floor, and the furniture was arranged to make the room look much bigger than it actually was, not to mention maintain a very appealing feng shuei. The boy had a double bed with a plush mattress, a bookcase full of maps and trinkets, a couple chests of drawers, the aforementioned minifridge, and a quite large wall-mounted flatscreen across from the bed. 

But the fragrance of it all was what really hit her.

Every single cubic inch of the room bore the gentle, soothing, wildflower-reminiscent scent that Tenko had grown used to associating with Rantaro and Bamboo, the stuffed panda he had given her almost nine months ago now, and that she slept with in hand every night. As a matter of fact, this scent had grown to become a comforting sensation for her, making her feel safe and secure, but to be just assaulted by it in such a condensed form like this… it spurred something deep within her.

Something that may or may not start with an L and rhyme with “torpedo”. 

Forcing the thoughts that came bubbling upwards deep within her, Tenko commented, “Nice place.”

“Thanks,” Rantaro smiled, “I figured I might as well get good at interior design, since people already expect so much out of my fashion sense, it might as well match.”

Rantaro picked up a remote from his bedside table and flicked the TV on, clicking into Disney+ and navigating to the home page. Tenko opened the minifridge and immediately felt her stomach begin to growl. She had not expected Rantaro to have this bad a sweet tooth, but she was in no way complaining. After all, what sane human being would say no to several packs of sour gummy worms and a gallon of orange soda? Tenko had to keep up her physical form and prowess for her Neo-Aikido, sure, but a girl was allowed to have a cheat day here or there.

Already having opened the first pack of worms, she turned back to find Rantaro running a hand through his hair like a model in a commercial as he settled back against his headboard, with a content and easy smile on his angular face. Tenko realized with a blush that since his TV was on the wall across from his bed, they would probably be sitting on it together.

“See anything you like?” Rantaro asked with a light, gruff tone.

Uh.

Uhhhh.

UHHHHHHHH.

“I’m pretty partial to the Toy Story movies myself,” he continued, “But I could go for whatever.”

Ohhhhh, he was talking about the movie selection. That made much more sense.

Tenko took a few moments for the heat to die down in her face yet again, before replying, “Erm… why don’t you pick something you think I’d like?”

The adventurer thought for a moment, before nodding, “Pixar’s ‘Brave’. You’re gonna love Merida, the main character.”

The aikido master nodded as he thumbed over to the movie in question, eyeing the space on the bed beside him. She sat down on it carefully, as if trying to sit down on a bed of nails, but actually found the mattress to be quite comfortable. Far more comfortable than her Hope’s Peak standard mattress. She knew that Rantaro was well off, it made sense that he had probably sprung for a better one. 

“Comfy?” he asked, grinning at the open bag of sour gummy worms that she cradled in her lap.

“Mostly,” she replied, frowning at the way her frizzy hat-head sprung off the wooden headboard behind her. Rantaro noticed this, and chuckled. 

“No bow tonight, huh?” he asked, “I get that it would clash with everything else, but it’s your trademark, Tenko.”

“I know,” she sighed, “I figured it would be okay for tonight, since I had the hat to cover it up. The reason I tie my hair so tight all the time is because I have such a hard time managing it. It’s so long, and it gets in the way of my Neo-Aikido if I just let it do its own thing, but it’s so hard to deal with all the time…”

Something sparked in the eyes of the adventurer, piquing her curiosity.

“What?” she asked.

“Oh, not much,” he replied, “Just, uhm… I used to do my sisters’ hair all the time. Picked up a few tricks. I could show you some that might help, if you like.”

Tenko blinked. She hadn’t even considered getting assistance from anybody regarding her hair in the past, but given Rantaro’s fashion sense, him being good with a comb and hair elastics made a lot of sense. And since she knew he could be trusted…

“Oh, what the hell,” she shrugged, scooching forwards slightly to allow him access to the back of her head.

The movie began to play in the background while Rantaro began fiddling with Tenko’s hair. He removed all of his rings first so as to not catch a stray hair painfully in one of them, and Tenko found herself relaxing more and more as he worked. He had been right, the movie was quite enjoyable, and combined with the altogether pleasant sensation of Rantaro running his delicate fingers through her hair, Tenko found herself remarkably at peace. 

The many ties that formed her hair into spirals went first, being set aside to allow the full breadth of her hair to bush out. Tenko heard Rantaro’s gruff chuckle very close to her ear at how poofy it all secretly was, and she felt a shiver down her spine.

Tenko felt her phone buzz in her blazer pocket, which she dug out idly to read whatever text she had recieved.

\-----  
(Today 7:12) Kaede: Hey Tenko, where are u? After the dance we were thinking of having a girls sleepover at Rumi’s, but we couldn’t find u to tell u  
\-----

The girl swallowed. A girls’ sleepover did sound as appealing as it usually was, but some part of her made her not want to leave the pleasant situation she was in right now, at least not for a little while.

\-----  
(Today 7:13) Tenko: Maybe I’ll drop in later, I’m busy RN

(Today 7:13) Kaede: Cool. busy with what? Celes mentioned you left the dance early. Everything good?

(Today 7:13) Tenko: Yeah, just hanging out w/ Taro.

(Today 7:14) Kaede: Sounds good.  
\-----

Tenko set her phone down for only about five seconds before it pinged yet again.

\-----  
(Today 7:14) Miu: HAVE YOU BEEN TURNED WOMAN

(Today 7:14) Tenko: wat

(Today 7:14) Miu: Turned! K told us u were with Taro! What type of magic junk is that boy workin’ with to straighten U out?  
\-----

Tenko would have huffed at the inventor’s implication if she wasn’t too busy making sure Rantaro didn’t look over her shoulder to read her messages. Both because of the subject matter pertaining to him, and also because she was quite enjoying the feel of the gentle tugs from his working with her hair.

\-----  
(Today 7:15) Tenko: Taro and I are just friends, Miu.

(Today 7:15) Miu: Oh, so u’d be fine with me getting in on that D? Keebs is open-minded, after all…

(Today 7:15) Tenko: Not on your life.

(Today 7:16) Miu: KNEW IT!!!!!!!!

(Today 7:16) Miu: Teru, u owe me 20 bux, Tenko’s bi

(Today 7:16) Miu: Fuk sorry wrong person

(Today 7:16) Miu deleted 2 message(s)  
\-----

Tenko sighed and tucked the phone away back into her blazer pocket, resisting the urge to shake her head in exasperation.

“Everything alright?” Rantaro asked.

“Just Miu being herself,” she replied.

The adventurer chuckled as his own phone pinged, and a bolt of alarm went through Tenko as he reached for it.

“Uh…. OOPS!” Tenko pretended to slip on the blankets, falling back against Rantaro and knocking his arm away from his phone. While he was distracted, she kicked the small device off the bed, where it thudded to the floor. Good thing he had a high-quality case.

“Ack!” Rantaro exclaimed, “Ah, erm… you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I---” Tenko turned her head as it leaned on him, only to freeze as her cheek came to rest on what part of him she had been lying on. His stomach, to be exact.

Those were abs that she felt.

“F-fine, R-Rantaro…” she finished shakily as she sat back up, pointedly ignoring the unwholesome images that raced through her mind.

“Alright then,” the boy nodded, a slight blush on his face as well. As they resettled, he went right back to her hair, having apparently completely forgotten about his phone, to her relief.

From that point on, Tenko could no longer really focus on the movie. Miu’s messages kept bouncing around in her head, distracting her. Up until this point, Tenko had identified as a proud and pure lesbian, and while she wasn’t sure how or if that had changed, she couldn’t exactly deny the appeal she found in the boy behind her. He was traditionally handsome, she knew this from comments made in his direction at many a girls-only gathering, but he had never seen him that way.

Until now?

Handsome aside, Tenko supposed it wouldn’t be inaccurate to describe Rantaro as “pretty”. His medium jawline and soft, angular features would be attractive on either a man or a woman, not to mention his fashion sense and the fact that he had longer eyelashes than most women. That coupled with his deceptively athletic body, underneath all the baggy layers he wore, and the pale green eyes that hid such a deep and thoughtful soul…

Tenko swallowed. Uh-oh.

“There,” Rantaro’s voice brought her back down to earth, “Check that out in the mirror.”

Tenko nodded and quickly stood, stepping into the bathroom to see his handiwork, and what she saw there made her freeze in place in shock.

Rantaro had taken a hairpin and folded her long hair twice before pinning it to the back of her head in a sort of partial updo. There were braids going along the side of her head and connecting at the back, and her bangs were brushed to one side. All that with just one hairpin, instead of the bow, six ties, and hairband that her hair usually took to tame. As she swished her head side to side, she found it remarkably stable, as well. And not only that…

“Beautiful” was not a word Tenko had ever used to describe herself. That word was reserved for other women, like Himiko, or Kirumi, or the like. Elegant, graceful women that Tenko adored. She was just, well, Tenko. 

But the girl staring back at her from the mirror was positively gorgeous.

“What do you think?” Rantaro asked, leaning in the doorframe and admiring his handiwork.

“It’s… she whispered, running her fingers through it as if making sure it was real, “It’s… beautiful, Rantaro. I… thank you.”

The green-haired boy’s smile was wide as he laughed, “No problem at all. I can show you how to do it if you like.”

“Actually…” she rechecked the reflection, “I think… I can see how you did it. I just… never thought to do it this way…”

“Huh,” the adventurer nodded, “In that case, I’m glad you like it. I’ve never tried a hairdo like that before, but I figured it would… suit you.”

Tenko would be lying if she said she didn’t notice the slight pink dusting that graced Rantaro’s cheeks as he admired her.

“A-anyway,” she blushed as well, “Back to the movie.”

“R-right…” Rantaro nodded, seemingly having forgotten that the movie was still playing in the other room. He sat back down on his side of the bed, and Tenko took hers back resting her back against the headboard much more comfortably now.

The bed was a double, so while it did fit them both, there wasn’t exactly room to spare. In fact, Tenko found her shoulder pressed up against his, but she also found she didn’t mind at all. Rantaro beside her, a spiffy new ‘do, a pretty good movie wrapping up before her, and sour gummy worms in her mouth, Tenko found herself not wanting for anything at the moment.

There was a tearful smile on her face as the movie faded out to credits.

“You were right,” she conceded, wiping away a stray tear, “That was a pretty good movie.”

“Knew you would like it,” Rantaro smiled back, “The 3D era of Disney princess movies are much more up your alley, I figure. Much more emphasis on, well, the princesses, instead of the personality-less love interests.”

Tenko laughed at that, “True.”

The two of them sat in silence for a little while. Tenko could feel emotion building up in her chest the longer she stayed this close to her friend, and as she looked up to both examine and admire his face, she found a similarly tense expression on his face.

“Kaede has invited me to a post-dance girls’ sleepover,” she commented, her voice a whisper.

She wanted to stay.

“I see,” Rantaro sighed, “Are you going now, then?”

She wanted a reason to stay.

“Maybe,” she replied, “Unless there’s something else you’d like to do.”

She wanted him to give her a reason to stay.

A few seconds of silence passed between them, still sitting next to each other, shoulders pressed up against each other. Rantaro shifted his gaze over to meet hers, and he lowered his voice to a gentle whisper, gruff and enticing, yet pleading at the same time.

“Or… you could not go.”

Tenko’s breath hitched in her throat as Rantaro laid a gentle hand on her leg.

“You could stay. Stay here, for tonight.”

Tenko released a ragged breath, “Rantaro…”

The boy leaned ever so slightly closer towards her, his green gaze still mixing with her own.

“Stay with me, for tonight,” he whispered, “Please.”

It all happened in one fluid motion.

Tenko let her emotions take hold at last.

Her first arm wrapped around his head to hold him close as she leaned in. Her second hand entwined its fingers with those of the hand he had placed gently upon her leg. 

Tenko didn’t think about his sex, or her perceived sexuality, or anything else. Just Rantaro.

Rantaro was the only thing on her mind as she kissed him. And he kissed her back.

If cocaine was a person, as Tenko very quickly found out, his name would be Rantaro Amami, and he would be a fucking incredible kisser.

For about thirty seconds, the pair stayed just like that, their lips finding new ways to fit together and reveling in the sensation they had never imagined before now. Tenko felt a slip of his tongue against her lips, and she accommodated by opening her mouth to permit him entry. Their tongues danced together like flower petals blown by the same gust of wind, and Tenko found her breath stolen away by the moment.

They both breathed deeply when they finally broke apart, the purity of the moment having allowed them to temporarily forget about their lungs’ need for air.

“Wow…” Tenko whispered, “...that was…”

“Well worth the wait,” Rantaro finished, beaming.

Tenko just nodded, still feeling a little breathless. In all her training, in all her life, she had never, NEVER felt so… exhilarated.

“So…” she murmured with a smile, “...Apparently, Miu was right. I’m bi.”

Rantaro laughed, “Seriously? Miu called this?”

“Yeah. She’s gonna hold this over my head for years.”

“Well…” Rantaro leaned in again, “I think we can deal with that. Benefits outweigh, right?”

“That they do,” Tenko smiled and kissed him again. This time, she gently laid a hand against his chest, reveling in the strength she felt there. Midway through the kiss, a devilish idea sparked through her head, and she quickly took a selfie with her phone. Rantaro broke the kiss to look at her strangely.

“Are you gonna post that or something?” he asked.

“N-no, I’m not one for social media,” she shook her head, “I was just gonna send it to the girls’ group chat, if that’s alright.”

The boy chuckled, “What, are you bragging about the catch or something?”

“I’m allowed to brag about getting a hot boyfriend, Rantaro,” she shoved him playfully, before blushing, “T-That’s, uhm… what we are now, right?”

“If you want to, yeah,” he nodded, “I’d really like that, Tenko.”

Tenko smiled, pressed the SEND button, and promptly tossed her phone aside to join the boy in a kiss and embrace once more.

\-----  
(Today 7:46) Tenko uploaded 1 image(s) to chat

(Today 7:46) Miu: CALLED THAT SHIT

(Today 7:47) Kaede: ohmygod YASSSSSSS QUEEN GET SOME

(Today 7:47) Kirumi: Well that is unexpected, but I am happy for you both.

(Today 7:47) Tsumugi: Don’t see the hype, the normie just added to his damn harem >:(

(Today 7:48) Maki: Shut up and be happy for them, Mugi

(Today 7:48) Angie: Atua says this union comes with good tidings of bounty and fertility!

(Today 7:49) Himiko: That’s Angie-speak for rubber up, u 2

(Today 7:49) Tsumugi: Ugh, figures he’d try to go all the way on night 1

(Today 7:49) Maki: Just showed Shu and he’s just staring at a wall questioning the universe

(Today 7:49) Maki: I think that means he approves but idk

(Today 7:50) Kaede: idk about yall but I’ve shipped this for months  
\-----

Tenko spent the night at Rantaro’s that night. Obviously, they didn’t do anything more than kiss and cuddle, but even that was more than Tenko had ever imagined she’d be doing, but more importantly, she didn’t care.

She was happy, and that was it. That was all that mattered.

\-----  
HOPE’S PEAK ACADEMY STUDENT E-HANDBOOK ALERT  
STUDENT SUPPORT LEVEL INCREASED

[Tenko Chabashira] HAS ATTAINED SUPPORT LEVEL [A+] WITH [Rantaro Amami].

CHANGING RELEVANT DATA…  
\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for you, LaLaLies. Hope you're happy. And do please continue to lose your mind over this ship in my comments, it's always appreciated haha.
> 
> Just Level S left, now. Should be dropping into your inboxes soon.


	5. Level S

Third row from the back, sixth from the left. The one with the calligraphic “A” in the middle. That was what Shuichi had told them to look for.

And here they were.

“This is the one,” Tenko murmured, glancing at her companion to get a bead of his expression.

The boy’s jaw was set as he replied, “Yeah. This is her.”

The Botswanan heat was bearing down on them, with the midday sun being uninhibited by a cloudless sky, but Rantaro’s shoulders were slumped for a different reason. Tenko reached forwards and touched his hand, prompting him to entwine his fingers in hers and look back at her with a grateful glance. 

The headstone was simple, save the delicate carving. There was no religious connotation, no commemorative message, no design, not even a birth-death indication. Just the stylized A and a name in simple lettering, already faded after only a year and a half of being carved there.

Isuzu Amami.

It wasn’t that it didn’t make sense. She had been an outsider in this village, didn’t even speak the language. Tenko wasn’t really surprised the headstone she had recieved had been minimalistic, but she couldn’t deny the flare of sadness she felt staring at the bland granite hunk that was the only reminder of the girl’s life.

Well, the only reminder other than Rantaro’s memories of her.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say,” Rantaro whispered, his voice barely audible over the gentle midday breeze ruffling the trees overhead, “I’ve been thinking about what I wanted to tell her ever since we got on the plane, but now that I’m here…”

“It’s okay,” Tenko reassured him, squeezing his hand affectionately and resting her other hand on his bicep, “Just tell her everything that’s happened since she’s been gone. I’m sure she would want to get caught up with her big brother after all this time.”

The boy nodded slowly, shifting the bouquet of forget-me-nots he had purchased in the marketplace uncomfortably in his free hand, before setting it down in front of the gravestone. He sniffled ever so slightly, attempting to straighten his posture as best he could, before letting out a raspy sigh.

“Uhm… hey, Isuzu,” he began, voice just barely above a murmur, “It’s… it’s me, Rantaro. Been a while, huh?”

The boy allowed a few moments of silence as he composed himself all over again.

“Look, I, uh… I just wanted to say… I’m sorry. For… for everything, okay? I lost all of you, I… I’ve been on my own for the longest time, and all I’ve been trying to do is find you, but… I was too late in your case. I… I’m so sorry, Isuzu.”

Tenko leaned her chin on his shoulder in support as he continued.

“I never gave up, Isuzu,” his voice cracked slightly, “On you, or on any of the rest of you. I… I will find the others, I promise. I’m just… so sorry you couldn’t come back with me. Losing you… it took me a long time to come to terms with that, and I blamed myself for a long time. I know if you were here, you’d give me a pretty swift kick in the pants for that, heh. But… you don’t have to. There’s… somebody who did all that for you, and I… I’d like you to meet her.”

Tenko looked up at Rantaro questioningly, and he shared a look with her before turning back to the headstone.

“This is Tenko,” he introduced, “She… she’s been the one keeping me together, for the most part. In your absence, I mean. I wish you could have met her in person, but this’ll have to do. I think you’d like her.”

“Hello… Isuzu,” Tenko nodded, closing her eyes and trying to picture the girl from the family portrait Rantaro had shown her, “I also wish I could have known you. Your brother speaks very highly of you, and… I think we would have been friends.”

Rantaro nodded, a smile on his face.

“You don’t have to worry about him,” she continued in a soft voice, “I’ll take good care of him, I promise. And I never break a promise to a girl. Rantaro… Rantaro is special to me. I’m gonna stay by his side, okay? I’m not gonna let him go.”

“Tuelo, your son,” Rantaro said, “I’ll look out for him, too. He seems happy with his grandparents here, but I’ll visit him as often as I can spare. He’s… he’s a good kid, Isuzu.”

Tenko wrapped her arms around Rantaro’s left one, embracing him and holding him close to her.

“Are you alright, Rantaro?” she asked, her face full of concern.

The boy took a few seconds to answer, before he exhaled a deep breath and replied, “...yeah. Yeah, I… think I am.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m alright, Tenko. Thanks for being here with me for this.”

She smiled, “As if I could miss the opportunity to meet one of your sisters, even just like this. And also… I knew I would miss you too badly if I stayed back at home.”

The boy let out a light chuckle. The pair of them had been an item for almost six months now, and she knew he would have missed her just as much if she hadn’t come along. There was just a certain something special that each of them brought out in the other by their mere presence.

“Anything else to say?” she asked.

“No… but I’ll probably visit her again before we leave tomorrow morning,” Rantaro shook his head, “Come on, let’s head out.”

“Back to the inn?”

“No…” he smiled at her, taking her hand in his, “I have somewhere else I’d like to go.”

Tenko nodded, offering him a soft smile as she followed him out of the churchyard. Were she on this trip with any other man, she probably would have been hesitant to go anywhere she didn’t know, but not a trace of concern graced her mind as they went on their way down the dusty dirt streets of the small town. At this point, Tenko had long since decided that she trusted Rantaro with her life.

Still though, curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, “So where are we off to? To visit your nephew?”

“No,” he replied, “Just a little place I spotted on my morning walk around town. It’s secluded enough for us to be alone, and I have something I want to do.”

Tenko nodded, falling to silence as she allowed herself to be led through the town roads. The pair of them walked for about ten minutes, occasionally remarking on the scenery or joking around just to see the other laugh. Eventually, as he led her down a side road on the outskirts of town, they came to a point where the only building around was a dilapidated stone structure at the end of the road, not even a roof covering it.

“What’s this place?” she asked.

“One of those little small-town superstitions,” he replied, beckoning her to follow him inside, “Supposedly, this used to be some kind of temple to a god from an ancient religion. An earthquake tore it down at some point though, that’s why it’s so destroyed.”

Tenko frowned and tentatively took her first steps into the structure. The flooring was chiseled basalt, in one large circle. There were a few benches still carved into what remained of the wall, which she settled herself onto after dusting one off with her hands.

“What superstition?” she asked.

“Well, you see, as was explained to me by the merchant I talked to,” the boy smiled, “The god that this temple supposedly worshiped was that particular religion’s god of love. This place has become a sort of special spot for couples, especially young ones. Apparently, this is also where my sister came with Tuelo’s father.”

Tenko blushed slightly and smiled. The pieces were beginning to fit together.

“So… what, you brought me here because the energy is supposed to strengthen our relationship?” she asked.

“Well, not so esoteric,” Rantaro replied with a laugh, “Just… seemed like the right place, is all. Tenko… I have something to give you. And something to tell you, that I probably should have told you a long time ago.”

The aikido master cocked her eyebrow up at him, but was silent to allow him to continue.

“Tenko…” he murmured, sitting down next to her and placing a hand on hers, “I just want to tell you… ever since I met you at the start of freshman year, you have continued to surprise me time and time again. I’ll admit to you, you didn’t make the greatest first impression.”

Tenko flushed, “A-ah, erm…”

“But,” he continued, smiling, “You pretty quickly showed me that you had a kind heart. You’re so strong in so many ways, Tenko, and… once you decided to give me a chance, you showed me that maybe… I’m worth something too.”

“That’s because you are, Rantaro,” Tenko nuzzled her face into his shoulder, smiling up at him, “You mean a lot to me, and you mean a lot to a lot of other people, too. I’m glad I was able to show you that.”

“Me too,” he agreed, nodding, “You’re so passionate about everything you do, so full of life… you even came along all this way, through two twelve-hour flights that were somehow both full of crying babies…”

Tenko shuddered, but found a soft smile on her face at the unpleasant recent memory.

“...just to keep me company, and to meet a sister of mine that you never got the chance to know. That means so much to me, Tenko. You mean so much to me.”

“All I want is to make sure that you’re okay,” she smiled up at him, “I can sit through crying babies for days if it means I get to support you, Rantaro.”

The adventurer swallowed, scratching at his head, seemingly gathering himself.

“I know, Tenko,” he replied softly, “And that’s one of the many reasons why… I’m in love with you.”

Tenko perked up, a pink flush befalling her cheeks. That… was the first time he had used that word for her. Actually… the first time anybody other than her parents had used it, and she wasn’t even that close to them.

“Rantaro…” she said, looking up at him and finding her eyes tearing up, “You… you’re sure? You… love me?”

“As if I could possibly not, after everything you’ve done,” his smile warmed her very soul, “And look, if you don’t want to say it back yet, that’s alright. People are usually on different timetables with that kind of thing, and I don’t want to---”

“Oh, shut up,” she batted him on the shoulder gently, “I love you too, of course I do.”

Rantaro blinked at her in surprise, before breaking out in a wide grin. His green eyes twinkled in the midday light, and Tenko couldn’t help but snuggle a little closer to him on that bench.

“I’ve held off on saying it until now,” she sighed, “Because I knew how you’ve had bad experiences with love in the past. I didn’t want to… scare you off, you know. By moving too fast.”

“You could never scare me off, Tenko,” he assured, leaning down to kiss her, which she gladly obliged. Her lips connected with his perfectly, as though the many times they had been placed there in the past had molded them to fit with no one else’s.

Tenko was sure her eyes were shining just as much as his were when they broke apart and smiled at one another for a long time.

“What have I become?” she mused, a playful tone in her light voice, “Falling in love with a man… my first real, reciprocated love, no less… you’ve done a number on me, haven’t you?”

“Oh, I try,” Rantaro laughed, “You aren’t getting rid of me anytime soon, either, Tenko.”

“As if I’d want to. You’re just as stuck with me. Remember our promise?”

“You mean that you would come with me after graduation? Yeah, I remember. I’m looking forwards to it.”

Tenko nodded, just enjoying the slight breeze as it tussled the green flop that she had learned to love.

“Hey, Rantaro?” she eventually asked, “What are we going to do after we find all of your sisters? Are we going to keep travelling?”

He blinked, stroking his chin in thought for a moment, before replying, “Well, you said that you wanted to teach Neo-Aikido at your dojo, right? I thought we would just settle down there.”

Tenko blushed at the implication, “Settle down? Rantaro, do you…”

She trailed off. The fantasy was freshly placed in her mind, and her brain was whirring with thousands upon thousands of scenes of potential futures, none of which she disliked.

“Yeah…” he replied, smiling at her, “I do, Tenko. I think we could, you know. Don’t you?”

Tenko shook the pervasive image of a little girl with her eyes and Rantaro’s green hair out of her mind for a moment, enough to reply with, “Yeah… I’d like that. But… are you sure? What if something changes?”

“It won’t,” he replied, “I’m sure of it. What I feel for you… it’s different from what I felt for the others before you, even before their lies were revealed. What I feel for you… this love isn’t fragile, Tenko. We’ll probably fight sometimes, but that’s natural, every couple disagrees on some things. I’ll still be in love with you, though, I know that.”

Tenko found that she couldn’t speak for the splitting smile on her face. Instead, she just leaned up and kissed him again, reveling in his scent wafted by the breeze. In truth, she felt exactly the same way. As surprising as that sentiment was, coming from her.

“You’re it for me, Tenko,” Rantaro’s voice carried as a gruff whisper, “That I’m sure of.”

Tenko beamed back, “Rantaro, you don’t know how much I’ve been wishing you’d say that to me.”

“Well then, sorry for the wait. It was long overdue.”

“I’m sure you’ll make it up to me.”

The boy chuckled, and Tenko noticed that he was fiddling with something in his pocket.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“O-oh,” he smiled, “You noticed it, huh. Well… when I went down to the market this morning, the flowers for Isuzu weren’t the only thing I picked up.”

Tenko’s puzzled face was cut off with shock when Rantaro excavated two small, polished silver circles from his pocket. Her poor heart must have skipped a few beats as she realized what the implication of that was.

“I said I had something to give you, right?” he asked softly.

“R-Rantaro…” she whispered, covering her mouth with her hands.

“It’s not an engagement ring, don’t worry,” he laughed at her expression, “It’s still too early to be thinking about something like that. Besides, I think all that stuff should probably wait until we’re ready to stay in one place for a while, don’t you think?”

Tenko nodded slowly, her face cooling down as she calmed herself, “Y-yeah, p-probably…”

“I was hoping…” Rantaro swallowed, “That this could serve as a promise ring. You know, just… a symbol. A visual commitment, that kind of thing.”

“You don’t have to sell me on the idea, Rantaro,” Tenko giggled, admiring how the sun glinted off the matching rings in his hand, “I already know I love you, I’ll wear a ring to prove it, no problem.”

The boy beamed back at her as she held her fingers out to him. Gently, he slid the smaller ring onto her ring finger, where it slid perfectly into place. Not chafing, not sliding, a permanent fixture. Tenko looked down at it and felt a tear of joy trickling down her face, only for it to get brushed away by the adventurer beside her.

Tenko took the second ring from Rantaro’s outstretched hand and, ever so gently, slid it onto his outstretched finger as well. In one movement, she entwined her fingers with his, their matching rings clinking together as she pulled him down for yet another kiss. 

“If you had told me it was supposed to be an engagement ring, I would still have said yes,” she whispered.

“I know,” he chuckled, “But frankly, I’d prefer to wait for marriage until we’ve at least got somewhere stable to live. We aren’t even out of high school, and you haven’t met my folks yet.”

“My master will like you,” she assured, “I’ve… gushed about you to him every now and then, he already knows a lot.”

Rantaro smiled, “In that case, I can’t wait to meet him. Hey, Christmas is coming up soon, why don’t we get my parents and your master together, do it all at once?”

“Sounds perfectly chaotic,” Tenko laughed.

“So, pretty normal for us, given that class of ours.”

“True.”

Tenko leaned on Rantaro’s shoulder, and he rested his head against hers. She felt his arm wrap around her shoulders and hug her tightly as they sat together on that bench, listening to the wind whistling through the tall grass and each other’s breathing.

After about five minutes of deliberation and courage-building, Tenko finally felt ready to ask him the dreaded question.

“Hey, Rantaro?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want kids?”

The boy blinked twice, surprised. 

“I-It’s just that…” Tenko poked her fingers together in embarrassment, “I’ve always had this fantasy of… well, raising a daughter and teaching her Neo-Aikido. Of course, I always assumed I’d be adopting a daughter with a wife, or finding a suitable donor so that I could carry it myself, but if I’m going to be with you, then…”

“Sure.”

The aikido master looked up at him to find him smiling warmly down at her, warmer than even the South African midday sun.

“R-really? Just like that!?” she asked.

“Yeah, just like that,” he nodded, before frowning, “Actually, one condition.”

“What is it?”

“I get to do her hair every morning. I love you, and I cherish you, and above all else, I do not trust you with grooming your own hair, let alone anybody else’s.”

Tenko failed to stifle a laugh, breaking out in a fit of giggles that Rantaro seemed to find infectious. His chest vibrated beneath her cheek as he too began laughing, and the pair of them quickly devolved into an absolute mess, holding onto each other for support as the spasms of laughter racked their bodies.

Eventually, they calmed down, and looked into each other’s eyes with teary vision. 

“You know, any relationship expert would probably say we’re rushing into things,” Rantaro commented.

“You’re probably right,” she nodded, “But I don’t care. I know what I feel.”

“Good. I do too.”

Tenko smiled and pulled him in for a soft embrace, pressing her lips against his cheek lovingly.

“Guess I’ll actually have to look into birth control, if we want to be practiced enough for when we start trying for real,” she teased.

The boy’s face flushed red, his eyes widening at the prospect, “uhm… w-well, t-that is…”

Tenko could only laugh at his adorable expression, before soothing it with a light squeeze.

“We’re going to be alright, Rantaro,” she whispered, hugging the boy tight.

“...yeah, we are,” he returned the hug, caressing the small of her back with his hands, “I love you, Tenko.”

“Love you too.”

\-----  
HOPE’S PEAK ACADEMY STUDENT E-HANDBOOK ALERT  
STUDENT SUPPORT LEVEL INCREASED

[Tenko Chabashira] HAS ATTAINED SUPPORT LEVEL [S] WITH [Rantaro Amami].

CHANGING RELEVANT DATA…

DATA NOW NO LONGER SUBJECT TO CHANGE  
REASON: PERMANENCE  
\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live for the F L U F F
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed this rarepair as much as I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Gawd, these two deserved better in V3. Both of 'em. Their dynamic is so interesting, and it just sucks that fanwork is the only place we ever get to see it explored.


End file.
